A Passion for Jewish Reading Part 3
Rabbi Dov Gartenberg, 8/30/05
In the past two essays I have written about the capacity for deep reading. This is the term I learned from my friend and colleague Noam Zion of the Shalom Hartman Institute. Last year Noam taught a class in which he shared a marvelous selection from Sven Birkets, a scholar of popular culture, who wrote a book called The Gutenberg Elegies. I will share with you selections from this book with my own commentary on the nature of reading.
"What is most consicuous as we survey the general trajectory of reading across the centuries is what I think of as the gradual displacement of the vertical by the horizontal-the sacrifice of depth to lateral range, in Darnton's (a scholar in European history) terms above, ashift from intensive to extensive reading. When books are rare, hard to obtain, and expensive, the reader must compen sate through intensified focus, most like Menocchio read the same passages over andover, memorizing, inscribing the words deeply on the slate of the attention, subjecting them to an interpretive pressure not unlike what students of scripture practice upon their texts (italics mine). This is a ferocious reading-prison or 'desert island' reading-and where it does not assume depth, it creates it. "
This is what reading the Torah was and should be. The Jews are ferocious readers of the Torah. In fact, I would argue that Jews are the bearers of a culture of ferocious reading. More than anything you can say about the Jews, a characteristic of almost all Jewish cultures is a passion, near obsession about reading. One only has to review the biblical and talmudic commentary library to appreciate the bookishness of the Jews.
One way to grasp this is to reflect on why Jewish tradition insists that when we read from the Torah we must read from a Torah scroll, a revered object in every synagogue and study hall. When you think about it, why don't we just read from a bound Humash (Pentateuch) in which the Hebrew is punctuated, vocalized, and numbered. Why must we read from a scroll which very inconveniently must be rolled to different passages which are not in consecutive order? Why must public readers partially memorize passages when reading from the scroll? The laws around the preparation, writing, and public reading of the Torah scroll seek to preserve a commitment to a deep reading which Birkets speaks of. The Jewish traditions of reading from the sacred scroll survived the introduction of the printing press and all subsequent technologies because the Jews understood that the old way of reading should not die.
"Inscribing the words deeply on the slate of attention"
This striking phrase is very characteristic of Jewish reading, particularly of the Torah. The word for the Bible in Hebrew is Mikra from the word infinitive, Likro- to read. It is the Mikra-Scripture, Bible that is the object of a vertical reading. Jews assembled books of their greatest commentators and included them in the library for Jews to reflect on their own reading of Torah and Scripture. The remarkable range of commentaries on Torah enable Jews to choose different reading trajectories of the holy texts-philosophical, mystical, imaginative, analytical, psychological. But all these very different approaches to reading the same text enabled Jews to remained a unified community.
Jews brought their books to every place they wandered. Only rare instances were the Jews prevented from bringing their books with them. In a remarkable documentary called the Last Marannos, the documentarians Stan Neuman and Frederic Brenner focus on a surviving Marrano community in Portugal. The Jews valiantly held onto their traditions in secret, but they were not able to preserve their books. Outwardly Catholic they were part of a culture of enforced illiteracy where only the priests knew and taught scripture. Desperately attempting to hold onto their traditions they attempted over generations to preserve the Jewish narratives through oral memory. With chilling insight the interviewers ask the marrano residents to recount the stories they tell around their rituals. The Passover account is confusing and convoluted, yet filled with distant echoes of Jewish lore. The lingering feeling from watching the documentary is the disastrous results for Jews when they lose access to the Torah and the sources of reading.
A few years ago I was invited to give a lecture on Judaism at a prestigious private high school in Seattle. The teacher and my Jewish student who invited me to speak to the 10th grade students warned me to not assume any familiarity with the Bible despite the fact that most of the students came from very well educated families. I asked if the kids would recognize Abraham or Moses and I was told, no. The teacher commented that our kids no longer share a common text whose stories and teachings are known to all and are the subject of study and reflection.
The students of this high school are like most of us, horizontal or lateral readers. They live in a culture which offers infinite choice, but very little in a common legacy. To be Jewish is more than anything a commitment to a common reading. But beyond that to plumb the vast treasures of Judaism we must return to the ferocious reading which marked Jewish culture and religious life throughout the generations. In a generation that seeks meaning, reading in this way not only uncovers depth of meaning, the very act of reading this way, as Birkets insightfully points out, creates it.
In part 4 of this series I will continue sharing from Birkets' outstanding essay.
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Thursday, August 25, 2005
A Passion for Jewish Reading, Part 2
A Passion for Jewish Reading Part 2
Rabbi Dov Gartenberg
August 25, 2005/20 Menachem Av 5765
In the past year I spent many hours reflecting on my experience as a pulpit rabbi in a Conservative congregation. One realization kept on recurring as I reflected on years of being part of a strong prayer community that had emerged in my former congregation. One thing I observed during the reading of the Torah was how few people followed the Humash-the text and commentary of the Torah that was publicly read in the synagogue. I also discovered in teaching families for Bar Mitzvah that many did not have Humashim at home and if they did they rarely opened them. The primary sense of public Judaism in the congregation was liturgical, a community that gathers for prayers. The young going through Bar or Bat Mitzvah were being acculturated to a community of prayer. I was more struck by what was missing. With a few exceptions most of the children and their parents had no concept of what it meant to engage in the study of texts or the joy of learning Jewishly with others.
The Torah service in the synagogue was primarily a ritual, not a serious engagement with reading. This is because the educational institutions of the synagogue and the day school struggle to convey a love of learning and engagement with Torah. Aware of this deep flaw in our community I became convinced that there needed to be a liberal Jewish initiative to celebrate and disseminate the Jewish love for reading, study, and engagement with texts. That is how Shivim Panim Latorah was born.
70 Faces of Torah is a Torah service with a Torah scroll. The core prayers of that service are retained, sung with melody, with a procession from the ark and the beloved traditions that accompany a public reading of the Torah in a quorum of 10 Jews (our service is egalitarian). But after the customary rituals we open up the scroll and engage in a deep reading of the Torah. Between eight to ten Humashim (Torah texts divided into weekly portions) with commentaries are distributed to participants who are asked to follow their commentaries on a passage of between 3-10 verses from the weekly portion. The value of multiple commentaries is that it enables everyone to get an appreciation of the multiple voices and approaches to the sacred text in Jewish tradition.
With these different perspectives we launch into a collective and deep reading of the text. I guide people first with questions of how to read the verses, refering to the differences in translation in the English commentaries and the implications of translating a biblical verse one way of another. Then I help make sense of the commentaries and the insights that they offer and the biases they represent. Lastly I bring selected sources from the rabbinic tradition as well as medieval and modern commentators who expand the conversation around the passage. In this way we begin to appreciate the loving attention and deep reading of the passage by previous generations. Lastly and most important, I ask people to close the book and reflect on how this newly mined passage informs our lives or gives insight for our times. This same approach is used for timelessly meaningful passages in the Torah as well as deeply problematic sections.
This form of reading is wonderful for many reasons. First, it slows down the process of reading allowing for reflection and imagination. Second, it conveys that sacred texts can have many readings and are not to be read one way. I think this is a very powerful antidote to the pervasive fundamentalism overwhelming all religions in our time. Third, we read together with others in an act of collective reading. All these sessions are interactive, carefully facilitated to encourage input from participants while I or other skilled teachers navigate the commentaries. Fourth, people see the profundity of the text and how it can be a spiritual resource in their lives. Lastly, it engenders in people a love for learning which leads them to the fullfilment of the mitzvah of Torah study as a part of their day or week.
In part three I want to share a wonderful essay by Sven Birkets from his book the Gutenberg Elegies about the experience of 'vertical reading'. His striking description of traditional reading captures exactly what I am trying to do in 70 Faces of Torah.
Rabbi Dov Gartenberg
August 25, 2005/20 Menachem Av 5765
In the past year I spent many hours reflecting on my experience as a pulpit rabbi in a Conservative congregation. One realization kept on recurring as I reflected on years of being part of a strong prayer community that had emerged in my former congregation. One thing I observed during the reading of the Torah was how few people followed the Humash-the text and commentary of the Torah that was publicly read in the synagogue. I also discovered in teaching families for Bar Mitzvah that many did not have Humashim at home and if they did they rarely opened them. The primary sense of public Judaism in the congregation was liturgical, a community that gathers for prayers. The young going through Bar or Bat Mitzvah were being acculturated to a community of prayer. I was more struck by what was missing. With a few exceptions most of the children and their parents had no concept of what it meant to engage in the study of texts or the joy of learning Jewishly with others.
The Torah service in the synagogue was primarily a ritual, not a serious engagement with reading. This is because the educational institutions of the synagogue and the day school struggle to convey a love of learning and engagement with Torah. Aware of this deep flaw in our community I became convinced that there needed to be a liberal Jewish initiative to celebrate and disseminate the Jewish love for reading, study, and engagement with texts. That is how Shivim Panim Latorah was born.
70 Faces of Torah is a Torah service with a Torah scroll. The core prayers of that service are retained, sung with melody, with a procession from the ark and the beloved traditions that accompany a public reading of the Torah in a quorum of 10 Jews (our service is egalitarian). But after the customary rituals we open up the scroll and engage in a deep reading of the Torah. Between eight to ten Humashim (Torah texts divided into weekly portions) with commentaries are distributed to participants who are asked to follow their commentaries on a passage of between 3-10 verses from the weekly portion. The value of multiple commentaries is that it enables everyone to get an appreciation of the multiple voices and approaches to the sacred text in Jewish tradition.
With these different perspectives we launch into a collective and deep reading of the text. I guide people first with questions of how to read the verses, refering to the differences in translation in the English commentaries and the implications of translating a biblical verse one way of another. Then I help make sense of the commentaries and the insights that they offer and the biases they represent. Lastly I bring selected sources from the rabbinic tradition as well as medieval and modern commentators who expand the conversation around the passage. In this way we begin to appreciate the loving attention and deep reading of the passage by previous generations. Lastly and most important, I ask people to close the book and reflect on how this newly mined passage informs our lives or gives insight for our times. This same approach is used for timelessly meaningful passages in the Torah as well as deeply problematic sections.
This form of reading is wonderful for many reasons. First, it slows down the process of reading allowing for reflection and imagination. Second, it conveys that sacred texts can have many readings and are not to be read one way. I think this is a very powerful antidote to the pervasive fundamentalism overwhelming all religions in our time. Third, we read together with others in an act of collective reading. All these sessions are interactive, carefully facilitated to encourage input from participants while I or other skilled teachers navigate the commentaries. Fourth, people see the profundity of the text and how it can be a spiritual resource in their lives. Lastly, it engenders in people a love for learning which leads them to the fullfilment of the mitzvah of Torah study as a part of their day or week.
In part three I want to share a wonderful essay by Sven Birkets from his book the Gutenberg Elegies about the experience of 'vertical reading'. His striking description of traditional reading captures exactly what I am trying to do in 70 Faces of Torah.
Monday, August 22, 2005
A Passion for Jewish Reading, Part 1
My Personal Rabbinic Passion: The Recovery of Authentic Jewish Reading
Part 1 August 22, 2005
The Rabbis of the Talmud distinguished between prayer and study. Prayer they considered to be an activity of Hayei Shaah- the life of the hour. In this view prayer is likened to eating and sleeping-a necessary activity for daily survival and living a life. The study of Torah, however, they considered to be an activity of Hayei Olam Haba- the life of eternity. They considered the act of learning, of reading the sacred text to be of transcendent value. There was something about study that takes us beyond the daily exigencies of life. Authentic learning transportes us to a place unconcerned with mere survival and sustenance. Thus the well known expression in rabbinic literature: "Talmud Torah Kneged Kulam" The Study of Torah is equal to all of the mitzvot-commandments-in the Torah.
Torah study, however, is a mystifying for many. Most American Jews, with a religious school education or less have learned 'about' Judaism, but have not learned how to read (study) Torah. Even college courses in Jewish studies often only provide an academic reading of Jewish tradition. They fail to convey the wonder of authentic Jewish learning.
I come out of the religious school and college Jewish studies experience and can attest that I did not really learn to love Jewish learning until much later. I received a paltry Jewish religious school education, spitballs and all. In college I had great teachers in Jewish studies, but did not emerge from undergraduate school with a passion for the texts of Jewish lore. During those years I experienced the orthodox yeshivah which introduced me to traditional reading. However I found that the very orthodox Yeshivah world, while filled with passion, failed to deal satisfactorily with the hard questions and honest questions that I was seeking as a young reader of Judaism.
It was in rabbinical school that I really discovered the love of Jewish learning. Most people think of rabbinical school as a form of professional education, training young men and women to serve congregations. But I did not go to rabbinical school to become a congregational rabbi. I went in search of authentic and transforming Jewish learning and a fascination with the the infinite world of meaning of Jewish texts that I had tasted in tiny morsels my college years. In this respect I was grateful that I chose to go the Jewish Theological Seminary (even though I had not grown up in the Conservative Movement which this institution represented), because of all the movement seminaries it was the most serious institution about teaching students how to become a serious, engaged and open minded Jewish readers .
This love of reading and study of Torah has animated my life, both personally and as a rabbi throughout the years to this day. I always told myself during those years that even if I left the professional rabbinate, I was so lucky to be given a profound Jewish education which would be a source of inspiration throughout my life. It turned out that I went into the professional rabbinate , but I did so with a dedication to learning and teaching that has always stamped my public rabbinate.
One of the reasons I formed Panim Hadashot was to create a context where Jewish reading could be rediscoverd and practiced and that the rabbi would be prized first and foremost as a teacher and mentor in the wisdom of the texts as applied to life. Could there be a place in the Jewish community which was focused and dedicated to the restoration of the place of "Jewish wisdom through reading"? This is a tall order in a fast food, fast information, fast gratification culture.
In the piece that follows I will share a description of reading which I am trying to restore to a central place in our lives as human beings and as Jews.
Rabbi Dov Gartenberg
Part 1 August 22, 2005
The Rabbis of the Talmud distinguished between prayer and study. Prayer they considered to be an activity of Hayei Shaah- the life of the hour. In this view prayer is likened to eating and sleeping-a necessary activity for daily survival and living a life. The study of Torah, however, they considered to be an activity of Hayei Olam Haba- the life of eternity. They considered the act of learning, of reading the sacred text to be of transcendent value. There was something about study that takes us beyond the daily exigencies of life. Authentic learning transportes us to a place unconcerned with mere survival and sustenance. Thus the well known expression in rabbinic literature: "Talmud Torah Kneged Kulam" The Study of Torah is equal to all of the mitzvot-commandments-in the Torah.
Torah study, however, is a mystifying for many. Most American Jews, with a religious school education or less have learned 'about' Judaism, but have not learned how to read (study) Torah. Even college courses in Jewish studies often only provide an academic reading of Jewish tradition. They fail to convey the wonder of authentic Jewish learning.
I come out of the religious school and college Jewish studies experience and can attest that I did not really learn to love Jewish learning until much later. I received a paltry Jewish religious school education, spitballs and all. In college I had great teachers in Jewish studies, but did not emerge from undergraduate school with a passion for the texts of Jewish lore. During those years I experienced the orthodox yeshivah which introduced me to traditional reading. However I found that the very orthodox Yeshivah world, while filled with passion, failed to deal satisfactorily with the hard questions and honest questions that I was seeking as a young reader of Judaism.
It was in rabbinical school that I really discovered the love of Jewish learning. Most people think of rabbinical school as a form of professional education, training young men and women to serve congregations. But I did not go to rabbinical school to become a congregational rabbi. I went in search of authentic and transforming Jewish learning and a fascination with the the infinite world of meaning of Jewish texts that I had tasted in tiny morsels my college years. In this respect I was grateful that I chose to go the Jewish Theological Seminary (even though I had not grown up in the Conservative Movement which this institution represented), because of all the movement seminaries it was the most serious institution about teaching students how to become a serious, engaged and open minded Jewish readers .
This love of reading and study of Torah has animated my life, both personally and as a rabbi throughout the years to this day. I always told myself during those years that even if I left the professional rabbinate, I was so lucky to be given a profound Jewish education which would be a source of inspiration throughout my life. It turned out that I went into the professional rabbinate , but I did so with a dedication to learning and teaching that has always stamped my public rabbinate.
One of the reasons I formed Panim Hadashot was to create a context where Jewish reading could be rediscoverd and practiced and that the rabbi would be prized first and foremost as a teacher and mentor in the wisdom of the texts as applied to life. Could there be a place in the Jewish community which was focused and dedicated to the restoration of the place of "Jewish wisdom through reading"? This is a tall order in a fast food, fast information, fast gratification culture.
In the piece that follows I will share a description of reading which I am trying to restore to a central place in our lives as human beings and as Jews.
Rabbi Dov Gartenberg
Sunday, August 21, 2005
More Musings on the Disengagement
Today I worked on texts concerning Teshuvah-repentance-in preparation for the Days of Awe. In a conversation with a colleague I had a flash that the disengagement was a sort of national teshuvah. Of course, the politicians would not articulate the disengagement in this way. But this astonishing act of withdrawal intentionally reversed a longstanding and misguided policy (in my opinion) and did so in as decent a way as possible. It can also be analogized to a dispute between two people, neither of whom can take the iniative to change the poisonous dynamic between them. To make teshuvah it takes at least one person to take different and unexpected action, to be a change agent. There is no guarantee that the other side will change, but the only way to change is when at least one takes action. Israel's action can be seen in this way. It was done at great political cost and has restored pragmatic Zionism to its proper place in Israeli statecraft.
To me the most touching picture was in the NY Times which showed soldiers cleaning up the synagogue in Neveh Dekalim. There were some soldiers kissing the ark. Others were putting away siddurim. One was sitting on the steps of the Bimah, either weeping or exhausted. It reminded me of cleaning up the shul after the holidays. I was deeply impressed by the restraint of the soldiers and policemen in the face of taunts and abuse. May this be a model to other nations on how to respond to dissidents.
The question that emerges for me after the disengagement is how do we cultivate a Jewish religious commitment and sensibility free from the temptation of messianism but not without passion for the deepest of Jewish religious ideals. There is a new organization in Israel called Maagelei Tzedek which is trying to turn the religious community back towards social justice and away from the idolization of the land. Israel has the biggest gap between rich and poor of any developed nation. This growing gap must be addressed as Israel overcomes its addiction to the settlements. The next few years will be very telling to the future of the 3rd Jewish commonwealth. Will it be able to continue to make the compromises and tenacity needed for the possibility of a peace with the Palestinians and will it address long neglected declines in social justice and education that truly endanger the viability of its future.
It is important for us not to waiver in our support of Israel, a support that is grounded on advancing a pragmatic agenda engaged in the best of Jewish values and ideals.
To me the most touching picture was in the NY Times which showed soldiers cleaning up the synagogue in Neveh Dekalim. There were some soldiers kissing the ark. Others were putting away siddurim. One was sitting on the steps of the Bimah, either weeping or exhausted. It reminded me of cleaning up the shul after the holidays. I was deeply impressed by the restraint of the soldiers and policemen in the face of taunts and abuse. May this be a model to other nations on how to respond to dissidents.
The question that emerges for me after the disengagement is how do we cultivate a Jewish religious commitment and sensibility free from the temptation of messianism but not without passion for the deepest of Jewish religious ideals. There is a new organization in Israel called Maagelei Tzedek which is trying to turn the religious community back towards social justice and away from the idolization of the land. Israel has the biggest gap between rich and poor of any developed nation. This growing gap must be addressed as Israel overcomes its addiction to the settlements. The next few years will be very telling to the future of the 3rd Jewish commonwealth. Will it be able to continue to make the compromises and tenacity needed for the possibility of a peace with the Palestinians and will it address long neglected declines in social justice and education that truly endanger the viability of its future.
It is important for us not to waiver in our support of Israel, a support that is grounded on advancing a pragmatic agenda engaged in the best of Jewish values and ideals.
Friday, August 19, 2005
Musings on the Disengagment
Yesterday, I couldn't stop looking at the footage of the evacuation from Gaza. Everyone I talked to yesterday expressed intensely mixed feelings, a combination of disgust at the settlers behavior with deep discomfort of images of Jews being removed from synagogues. As I read the accounts of the settler's well planned psychological warfare applied to the soldiers and the policemen I grasped how they were resorting to Jewish guilt to undermine their evacuators. Most striking was the staged photo of settler children with their hands up wearing orange stars, harking back to the haunting photo of Nazi era Jewish children doing the same, unposed. These manipulative allusions to the holocaust aroused disgust in me as I am sure it provoked anger amongst most Israelis. Yet the images work since a part of us remains very uncomrtable with the image of Jews confronting other Jews.
During the day I thought about bizarre halachic dilemmas that must have arose in the confrontations at the synagogues. In one account I read that a group of protesters invited the soldiers to daven shahrit (the morning service) with them before they began the evacuation. Can an Jewish evacuator be counted in a minyan? It was Thursday so the Torah was read. Do you offer him an aliyah (being called to the Torah)? As I davened yesterday I thought about all the points in the morning service that must have emotionally tugged at the worshippers in those synagogues: Shomer Yisrael-Guardian of Israel-a prayer in the supplication section. Or the passage before the Shema, "Lo Nevosh Lolam Va'ed"-Let us never be humiliated for all time." When you pray in distress, every word seems to speak to you, even if it can distort reality. Loving the prayers as I do, I could relate to how these people were feeling even if I have no sympathy for their cause.
I mused also about how young the protesters were. As an educator I now wonder how to get teenagers into shul. Well now I know. Educate them into messianism and get into a big spat with the state. One of the very significant cultural crises that emerge from the disengagement is the greenhouse education system in Israel. There is a religious tract and a secular tract in Israel for educating the young. These systems seem to exacerbate, if not create the deep cultural divisions in Israel over religion and citizenship. This is one of the challenges that Israel will have to face in the coming years if it is to foster a common sense of citizenship and a respect for democracy, law, and compromise.
As ugly as the scenes were yesterday in one sense I thought this was Israel's finest hour. The guilt inducing use of the expression "A Jew does not expell a Jew." was intended to provoke and shame the soldiers. Yes, Jews have been expelled many time in our long history. But not by fellow Jews serving as agents of a democratic Jewish state. The restraint of the evacuators was admirable. Their calm in the face of derision and manipulation was impressive. The empathy of many soldiers for the authentic grief of the settlers was touching. The behavior of the soldiers and the policemen reveal a greater maturity about the use of state power in Israel, of being firm while not descending into cruelty. As Jews we know about cruel expulsions, about heartless dispossesions. But what we witnessed yesterday was not just the government, but the democratic majority enforcing a new boundary with dignity a national self restraint.
Sharon's speech to the nation included words of empathy for the Palestinians and their plight. It was little noticed but very significant coming from this old warrior. There is so much hatred in this land. The settlers so passionate about their loss, show no empathy for the Palestinians, no recognition of any legitimate claims they might have. Immersed in a messianic vision and a seething hatred many of the settlers became blind to the reality they presented to the Palestinian population that surrounded them. Sharon's political tzimtzum (a kabbalistic term meaning contraction) opens up a space for them to make something good. I have no illusions about Palestinian hatred of Jews, yet for there to be progress, the Jewish state and its people have to be prepared to contract with strength. Peace will not be won with love, it will be won with self-restraint. It will be achieved with an awareness that the land must be apportioned to let the other side begin to recover its dignity.
8/19/05
During the day I thought about bizarre halachic dilemmas that must have arose in the confrontations at the synagogues. In one account I read that a group of protesters invited the soldiers to daven shahrit (the morning service) with them before they began the evacuation. Can an Jewish evacuator be counted in a minyan? It was Thursday so the Torah was read. Do you offer him an aliyah (being called to the Torah)? As I davened yesterday I thought about all the points in the morning service that must have emotionally tugged at the worshippers in those synagogues: Shomer Yisrael-Guardian of Israel-a prayer in the supplication section. Or the passage before the Shema, "Lo Nevosh Lolam Va'ed"-Let us never be humiliated for all time." When you pray in distress, every word seems to speak to you, even if it can distort reality. Loving the prayers as I do, I could relate to how these people were feeling even if I have no sympathy for their cause.
I mused also about how young the protesters were. As an educator I now wonder how to get teenagers into shul. Well now I know. Educate them into messianism and get into a big spat with the state. One of the very significant cultural crises that emerge from the disengagement is the greenhouse education system in Israel. There is a religious tract and a secular tract in Israel for educating the young. These systems seem to exacerbate, if not create the deep cultural divisions in Israel over religion and citizenship. This is one of the challenges that Israel will have to face in the coming years if it is to foster a common sense of citizenship and a respect for democracy, law, and compromise.
As ugly as the scenes were yesterday in one sense I thought this was Israel's finest hour. The guilt inducing use of the expression "A Jew does not expell a Jew." was intended to provoke and shame the soldiers. Yes, Jews have been expelled many time in our long history. But not by fellow Jews serving as agents of a democratic Jewish state. The restraint of the evacuators was admirable. Their calm in the face of derision and manipulation was impressive. The empathy of many soldiers for the authentic grief of the settlers was touching. The behavior of the soldiers and the policemen reveal a greater maturity about the use of state power in Israel, of being firm while not descending into cruelty. As Jews we know about cruel expulsions, about heartless dispossesions. But what we witnessed yesterday was not just the government, but the democratic majority enforcing a new boundary with dignity a national self restraint.
Sharon's speech to the nation included words of empathy for the Palestinians and their plight. It was little noticed but very significant coming from this old warrior. There is so much hatred in this land. The settlers so passionate about their loss, show no empathy for the Palestinians, no recognition of any legitimate claims they might have. Immersed in a messianic vision and a seething hatred many of the settlers became blind to the reality they presented to the Palestinian population that surrounded them. Sharon's political tzimtzum (a kabbalistic term meaning contraction) opens up a space for them to make something good. I have no illusions about Palestinian hatred of Jews, yet for there to be progress, the Jewish state and its people have to be prepared to contract with strength. Peace will not be won with love, it will be won with self-restraint. It will be achieved with an awareness that the land must be apportioned to let the other side begin to recover its dignity.
8/19/05
Saturday, July 23, 2005
"A Captain without a Ship, A Rabbi without a Shul"
Did I mention I'm betrayed?
I used to be the king
But now I am the fool
A captain without a ship
A rabbi without a shul!
From the Song, "Betrayed" from the musical The Producers
After serving congregations for over twenty years, I decided last year to be a rabbi without a shul. I left something very familiar and very comfortable. There is a certain prestige which comes with serving a congregation. You have one sixtieth (the rabbinic term for a small dimension) a being a king. You are ruler of the bimah, and decisor of halachah. To many you are indispensible as the officiant at the ritual milestones in their lives. Local journalists call you for quotes ; communal leaders request your invocations at gatherings. You get paid more than all the other employees at the synagogue. You have your name on the top of the marquis.
But in truth a rabbi at a shul can become a ceremonial king who is so distracted by the demands of serving a community with endless needs that he no longer remembers why he went into the rabbinate. I woke up in the midst of a congregational crisis to realize that to save my commitment to being a rabbi I had to leave the congregation. But more than leave, I had to find a different way to serve the Jewish people.
In the months after I announced my resignation from my former congregation I reviewed the lessons I had learned as a congregational rabbi. I thought about the reasons that people fall away from or never connect to congregations. I reflected on the constraints of a pulpit rabbi and the structure he works in. I wondered why there is so little Torah in contemporary congregational life.
What emerged from several months of Heshbon Nefesh (soulful reflection) and innumerable conversations with friends and colleagues was a new model which required rabbinic leadership, but was not a synagogue. From the perspective of a year later I will enumerate a number of central insights that led to the founding of Panim Hadashot-New Faces of Judaism. These insights have become more clear over the year as we attempted to implement them in the form of programs and learning.
1. Placing the Emphasis on Learning Over Prayer
The first insight was that the contemporary synagogue had lost the capacity to instill a love of learning. Most congregations define their success on the popularity of their communal worship. The measure of a good member was if he or she was a regular at services. The modern synagogue was organized around worship, yet the dirty little secret was that the great majority of the congregation did not attend and many of those who did attend did so for every other purpose other than to pray. After fifteen years of leading learner's minyans, teaching prayer to converts and congregants I realized that intentional prayer is one of the hardest aspects of tradition to inculcate in others.
What would it be like to build community around learning instead of prayer? Judaism is a tradition which is sustained by a seemingly limitless number of great texts, Torah, Midrash, Talmud, Kabbalah, philosophy. Why not help Jews to make a profound connection to their great texts, open their minds to the profound conversations over the ages. Why not model ongoing learning as an authentic mode of commitment and create an institution which supported people in their desire to learn and grow.
By putting the emphasis on learning, could you open up Jewish life to people with diverse backgrounds who would share the commonality of exploring a text filled with meaning. Wouldn't this be a way to help disconnected Jews to gain a respect for Judaism by showing the great depth and playful quality of our literature.
2. The feast around the table is the bubbling spring of Jewish life.
The most transforming Jewish experiences in my rabbinate were around a Shabbat table. Yet the demands of congregational life make it a secondary dimension of a rabbi's life. What would it mean to build an institution that focused on modeling and sharing Shabbat table feasts that truly inspired a love of Shabbat and Judasim. What would it mean to create Shabbat experience in home that helped people rediscover rest and joy in their overbusy lives? What would it mean to teach a Judaism of kugels, of songs, of salting hallahs, of storytelling, and holy conversation?
I realized that I wanted to build a rabbinate that helped Jews rediscover the home-centered beauty and holiness of Jewish life, giving people the spiritual tool box to bring Shabbat into their homes and among their friends and family. We forget how many Jews have lost touch with these traditions. We forget how Shabbat has vast potential to bring meaning and connection back into our lives.
3. Sharing Our Judaism in an Open Society
I believe that Judasim is a remarkable religious and moral teaching. I chose the rabbinate because I wanted to dedicate my life to teaching its message. But I cannot do this alone. I seek to empower Jews to live and share their Judasim along with me. The reality of synagogue life is that it is structured as a local community to serve its membership. Jews don't join a syangogue to serve the Jewish people. Many join the synagogue to be served.
What would it be like to create a model of Jewish life in which Jews would come together to serve and support other Jews and interested non-Jews in gaining a deeper understanding of its message and way of life. What is wrong with Jews being excited about being Jewish? What is wrong with Jews wanting to share the beauty of their Shabbat with others? We do not live in a ghetto anymore. We don't have to be afraid of the outside? We do not have to be ashamed of our tradition.
The implications of this approach brings us back to the first insight: the emphasis on learning. Jewish learning must help Jews be able to articulate the central teachings of Judaism to themselves and to others. We are no longer living in a time when most Jews grow up with in culturally and religiously rich Jewish home. Most of our Jewish upbringings are thin in practice with shaky, poorly defined values.
There is content to Judaism. It is more than food and feelings. The capacity of Jews to share a joyful and thoughtful Judaism is the key not only to our wellbeing as a community, but also our standing in an open and democratic society. I am trying to build an institution where the content of Judasim is taken seriously while we live out our Jewish lives joyfully.
Then why did I chose the name Panim Hadashot-New Faces as the name of this new model? I was inspired to use this talmudic term because it is associated with a very lovely but little observed tradition in the liberal (Reform, Conservative, Renewal) community. It is a longstanding Jewish custom to extend the joy of a wedding into the week with parties at which blessings were recited over bride and groom. In order to celebrate and bring joy to the couple we are required to bring in new faces-panim hadashot. This custom embodied for me a Jewish value of sharing joy. Judaism is not a religion which focuses on teaching an exclusive truth. It is, instead, concerned with creating relationships between people and God of meaning, commitment, and hope. We want to share our joy, with others in our community and beyond. Cultivating that joy and sharing it with others through learning and celebration is the focus of Panim Hadashot.
So I am a rabbi without a shul. But I am a rabbi who has rediscovered his purpose. Dayyeinu. Over the year many others have come to share the vision of Panim Hadashot. There are many other insights that are emerging from our efforts. I hope you will join us for one of our programs and support our efforts to bring new life to Judasim in the Pacific Northwest.
Shalom, Rabbi Dov Gartenberg
I used to be the king
But now I am the fool
A captain without a ship
A rabbi without a shul!
From the Song, "Betrayed" from the musical The Producers
After serving congregations for over twenty years, I decided last year to be a rabbi without a shul. I left something very familiar and very comfortable. There is a certain prestige which comes with serving a congregation. You have one sixtieth (the rabbinic term for a small dimension) a being a king. You are ruler of the bimah, and decisor of halachah. To many you are indispensible as the officiant at the ritual milestones in their lives. Local journalists call you for quotes ; communal leaders request your invocations at gatherings. You get paid more than all the other employees at the synagogue. You have your name on the top of the marquis.
But in truth a rabbi at a shul can become a ceremonial king who is so distracted by the demands of serving a community with endless needs that he no longer remembers why he went into the rabbinate. I woke up in the midst of a congregational crisis to realize that to save my commitment to being a rabbi I had to leave the congregation. But more than leave, I had to find a different way to serve the Jewish people.
In the months after I announced my resignation from my former congregation I reviewed the lessons I had learned as a congregational rabbi. I thought about the reasons that people fall away from or never connect to congregations. I reflected on the constraints of a pulpit rabbi and the structure he works in. I wondered why there is so little Torah in contemporary congregational life.
What emerged from several months of Heshbon Nefesh (soulful reflection) and innumerable conversations with friends and colleagues was a new model which required rabbinic leadership, but was not a synagogue. From the perspective of a year later I will enumerate a number of central insights that led to the founding of Panim Hadashot-New Faces of Judaism. These insights have become more clear over the year as we attempted to implement them in the form of programs and learning.
1. Placing the Emphasis on Learning Over Prayer
The first insight was that the contemporary synagogue had lost the capacity to instill a love of learning. Most congregations define their success on the popularity of their communal worship. The measure of a good member was if he or she was a regular at services. The modern synagogue was organized around worship, yet the dirty little secret was that the great majority of the congregation did not attend and many of those who did attend did so for every other purpose other than to pray. After fifteen years of leading learner's minyans, teaching prayer to converts and congregants I realized that intentional prayer is one of the hardest aspects of tradition to inculcate in others.
What would it be like to build community around learning instead of prayer? Judaism is a tradition which is sustained by a seemingly limitless number of great texts, Torah, Midrash, Talmud, Kabbalah, philosophy. Why not help Jews to make a profound connection to their great texts, open their minds to the profound conversations over the ages. Why not model ongoing learning as an authentic mode of commitment and create an institution which supported people in their desire to learn and grow.
By putting the emphasis on learning, could you open up Jewish life to people with diverse backgrounds who would share the commonality of exploring a text filled with meaning. Wouldn't this be a way to help disconnected Jews to gain a respect for Judaism by showing the great depth and playful quality of our literature.
2. The feast around the table is the bubbling spring of Jewish life.
The most transforming Jewish experiences in my rabbinate were around a Shabbat table. Yet the demands of congregational life make it a secondary dimension of a rabbi's life. What would it mean to build an institution that focused on modeling and sharing Shabbat table feasts that truly inspired a love of Shabbat and Judasim. What would it mean to create Shabbat experience in home that helped people rediscover rest and joy in their overbusy lives? What would it mean to teach a Judaism of kugels, of songs, of salting hallahs, of storytelling, and holy conversation?
I realized that I wanted to build a rabbinate that helped Jews rediscover the home-centered beauty and holiness of Jewish life, giving people the spiritual tool box to bring Shabbat into their homes and among their friends and family. We forget how many Jews have lost touch with these traditions. We forget how Shabbat has vast potential to bring meaning and connection back into our lives.
3. Sharing Our Judaism in an Open Society
I believe that Judasim is a remarkable religious and moral teaching. I chose the rabbinate because I wanted to dedicate my life to teaching its message. But I cannot do this alone. I seek to empower Jews to live and share their Judasim along with me. The reality of synagogue life is that it is structured as a local community to serve its membership. Jews don't join a syangogue to serve the Jewish people. Many join the synagogue to be served.
What would it be like to create a model of Jewish life in which Jews would come together to serve and support other Jews and interested non-Jews in gaining a deeper understanding of its message and way of life. What is wrong with Jews being excited about being Jewish? What is wrong with Jews wanting to share the beauty of their Shabbat with others? We do not live in a ghetto anymore. We don't have to be afraid of the outside? We do not have to be ashamed of our tradition.
The implications of this approach brings us back to the first insight: the emphasis on learning. Jewish learning must help Jews be able to articulate the central teachings of Judaism to themselves and to others. We are no longer living in a time when most Jews grow up with in culturally and religiously rich Jewish home. Most of our Jewish upbringings are thin in practice with shaky, poorly defined values.
There is content to Judaism. It is more than food and feelings. The capacity of Jews to share a joyful and thoughtful Judaism is the key not only to our wellbeing as a community, but also our standing in an open and democratic society. I am trying to build an institution where the content of Judasim is taken seriously while we live out our Jewish lives joyfully.
Then why did I chose the name Panim Hadashot-New Faces as the name of this new model? I was inspired to use this talmudic term because it is associated with a very lovely but little observed tradition in the liberal (Reform, Conservative, Renewal) community. It is a longstanding Jewish custom to extend the joy of a wedding into the week with parties at which blessings were recited over bride and groom. In order to celebrate and bring joy to the couple we are required to bring in new faces-panim hadashot. This custom embodied for me a Jewish value of sharing joy. Judaism is not a religion which focuses on teaching an exclusive truth. It is, instead, concerned with creating relationships between people and God of meaning, commitment, and hope. We want to share our joy, with others in our community and beyond. Cultivating that joy and sharing it with others through learning and celebration is the focus of Panim Hadashot.
So I am a rabbi without a shul. But I am a rabbi who has rediscovered his purpose. Dayyeinu. Over the year many others have come to share the vision of Panim Hadashot. There are many other insights that are emerging from our efforts. I hope you will join us for one of our programs and support our efforts to bring new life to Judasim in the Pacific Northwest.
Shalom, Rabbi Dov Gartenberg
Friday, July 22, 2005
Loving Letters of 'Teshuvah'
Jerusalem 15 Tammuz/7/22/05
A dear friend and colleague shared with me a lovely family tradition she does with her family prior to Yom Kippur. Each parent prepares a "Teshuvah" letter for each of the children. In their letters they review the milestones in the child's life during the past year and their perceptions of changes in the relationship over this period of time. They extend praises and and ask for forgiveness for wrongs. The letters provide the parents an opportunity to reflect on their relationships with their children, to validate growth and change, and to convey their deeply held values. The husband and wife write letters to each other as well. The letters are read at the meal prior to Kol Nidre (seudat hamafseket) which they begin in the mid afternoon to allow for time to discuss and reflect on the letters.
What a beautiful family custom and an authentic application of the practice of Teshuvah which marks the season of the Days of Awe. What a wonderful way to bless children and spouses before the entry into the holiest day of the year. This lovely custom reflects a very conscious awareness of Judaism as a religion of convental relationship. The word Brit-covenant-is an critical term in Judaism. God and Israel are connected through Brit. A marriage is called Brit Nisuim-the covenant of marriage. Brit Milah or Brit Bat are rituals in which we mark the 'covenanting' of a child, the act of a parent bringing a child into the covenant between God.
Brit, then, is a way of giving great weight to relationships and the claims they make on us. David Hartman, when talking about his theology of covenant, askes his listeners to understand Judaism as one understands the relationship of a parent to a child. The experience of child rearing places a claim on a parent. Whenever we enter a serious relationship, the very reality of that relationship makes us feel a claim on us toward the other person. In Judaism there is a profound awareness of the claims of relationships, between parents and children, between teacher and student, between husband and wife, between friend and friend, between God and a human being.
In the Talmud there is an expression, 'Gadol hametzuveh v0seh mhalo metzuveh v'oseh'. Greater is the person who is commanded (to perform mitzvot) and does them than the one who is not commanded and does them. This seems completely counterintuitive in our contemporary culture. We are reminded by bumper stickers to perform random acts of lovingkindness. We are told to do acts of charity from the heart. But in Jewish tradition relationships and acts arise out of claims, not just inner feelings. Here is one way to interpret the talmudic dictum. A person's relationships are more meaningful and enduring when there is a claim which is responded to with loving attention.
Teshuvah-repentance makes sense when we see relationships as covenantal-making claims on us. The act of teshuvah, or repairing a relationship with God or human beings is responding to a claim they have on our lives. We seek to repair breaches in our relationships because our most enduring relationships make a claim on us. We cannot ignore these ties; they call out to us to attend to them, to care for, to have empathy for the relationship partner. Judaism is a way of life which commits us to attending to the most important relational claims, family, community, and ultimately God.
The Teshuvah letters of my colleagues' family than is a deeply authentic Jewish practice, one that honors the claims of relationships by attending to them at an auspicious time. I encourage my readers to consider this custom for their own families and significant relationships as we enter the sacred season of the Days of Awe. In this way the act of Teshuvah becomes concrete and our most important relationships can deepen and be repaired.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Dov Gartenberg
A dear friend and colleague shared with me a lovely family tradition she does with her family prior to Yom Kippur. Each parent prepares a "Teshuvah" letter for each of the children. In their letters they review the milestones in the child's life during the past year and their perceptions of changes in the relationship over this period of time. They extend praises and and ask for forgiveness for wrongs. The letters provide the parents an opportunity to reflect on their relationships with their children, to validate growth and change, and to convey their deeply held values. The husband and wife write letters to each other as well. The letters are read at the meal prior to Kol Nidre (seudat hamafseket) which they begin in the mid afternoon to allow for time to discuss and reflect on the letters.
What a beautiful family custom and an authentic application of the practice of Teshuvah which marks the season of the Days of Awe. What a wonderful way to bless children and spouses before the entry into the holiest day of the year. This lovely custom reflects a very conscious awareness of Judaism as a religion of convental relationship. The word Brit-covenant-is an critical term in Judaism. God and Israel are connected through Brit. A marriage is called Brit Nisuim-the covenant of marriage. Brit Milah or Brit Bat are rituals in which we mark the 'covenanting' of a child, the act of a parent bringing a child into the covenant between God.
Brit, then, is a way of giving great weight to relationships and the claims they make on us. David Hartman, when talking about his theology of covenant, askes his listeners to understand Judaism as one understands the relationship of a parent to a child. The experience of child rearing places a claim on a parent. Whenever we enter a serious relationship, the very reality of that relationship makes us feel a claim on us toward the other person. In Judaism there is a profound awareness of the claims of relationships, between parents and children, between teacher and student, between husband and wife, between friend and friend, between God and a human being.
In the Talmud there is an expression, 'Gadol hametzuveh v0seh mhalo metzuveh v'oseh'. Greater is the person who is commanded (to perform mitzvot) and does them than the one who is not commanded and does them. This seems completely counterintuitive in our contemporary culture. We are reminded by bumper stickers to perform random acts of lovingkindness. We are told to do acts of charity from the heart. But in Jewish tradition relationships and acts arise out of claims, not just inner feelings. Here is one way to interpret the talmudic dictum. A person's relationships are more meaningful and enduring when there is a claim which is responded to with loving attention.
Teshuvah-repentance makes sense when we see relationships as covenantal-making claims on us. The act of teshuvah, or repairing a relationship with God or human beings is responding to a claim they have on our lives. We seek to repair breaches in our relationships because our most enduring relationships make a claim on us. We cannot ignore these ties; they call out to us to attend to them, to care for, to have empathy for the relationship partner. Judaism is a way of life which commits us to attending to the most important relational claims, family, community, and ultimately God.
The Teshuvah letters of my colleagues' family than is a deeply authentic Jewish practice, one that honors the claims of relationships by attending to them at an auspicious time. I encourage my readers to consider this custom for their own families and significant relationships as we enter the sacred season of the Days of Awe. In this way the act of Teshuvah becomes concrete and our most important relationships can deepen and be repaired.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Dov Gartenberg
Monday, July 18, 2005
Heroism at its Twilight
Heroism at its Twilight
As I right thousands of opponents to the disengagement are descending on the boundary of Gaza to confront 20,000 police and soldiers who will not let them enter the closed off Strip. This is just a few days after Hamas send Qassam rockets into Israel and a suicide bomber killed five in Netanya. The papers are filled page to page with coverage of the rising tension and everyone here is nervous about violence breaking out from one of several directions. As you can imagine it is hard to concentrate on anything else. But it should be emphasized that most Israelis support the disengagement and that most of Israel is engaged in a regular work day.
The opponents of the disengagement wear orange ribbons while the proponentss wear blue. A colleague suggested that orange connoted fire and blue connoted ice. Certainly the passion and zeal flows from the settlers and their supporters who seem to get more and more enraged by the day. It is hard to get passionate about disengagement. Its the right thing to do, but no one savors it, especially as everyone here expects chaos to reign in Gaza when Israel leaves. I am one of the icy ones, because I fear the fires ignited by the religious fervor of the settlers will scorch us all.
I am struck by how far Sharon is prepared to go to make the disengagement happen. He has closed Gaza. He has deployed thousands of troops to deter protesters. The authorities have declard the today's huge protest at the southern border to be illegal. People in buses headed to Gaza are being stopped by police in an effort to prevent them from reaching a march at which the organizers are expecting 100,000 people. It appears that Sharon will do almost anything to stop the settlers and their supporters from slowing down the evacuation. My view is that he is showing Abbas the type of political needed to suppress extremists. Abbas is weak. Sharon is not. The bulldozer will crush his opposition. How ironic that Sharon, the champion of the settlers is villified by them and will not back down before their fury. It is amazing to watch all this transpire before our eyes. No one knows how this will turn out. But the next few days appear to be pivotal.
Meanwhile I am in what I call the Hartman bubble. In the Hartman bubble we sail around Jewish history and thought without the distractions of events of the day. We are here to reflect and absorb and shlep our insights back to America. I would say that the spirit of Yochanan ben Zakkai hovers in this place. He was a rabbi who stepped out of Jewish history to continue Judaism in the beit midrash. He was a rabbi who lived during the revolt against Rome. He realized that history would not be kind to the Jews so he decided he had to bring together the rabbis, make accomodation with Rome, and perpetuate Judaism through his gatherings of the sages.
We are not in such dire straights, but Israel's historical current historical drama can become an obsessive concern. So we use the old rabbinic technique of returning to the texts to leave history for a while and see Judaism, Jews, and humanity with the longer view. I come to Israel in the summers to study at the wonderful institute for the month in a special program for rabbis from around North America. This summer the theme is religion, ethics, and violence. So instead of hanging out at demonstrations or making field trips to Gaza or the West Bank, we struggle with the issues as faced by previous generations. The past speaks then in the midst of this uncertain present.
Today David Hartman taught us one of the great texts in Jewish history: the Epistle on Matyrdom. Over 800 years ago Maimonides lost his temper when he read about a rabbi who gave bad advice to Jews who were forcibly converted to Islam. The rabbi urged them to matyr themselves instead of carrying on as Jews in secret. Maimonides rejected with fury the all or nothing approach of his colleague. He argues that the Jews should not matyr themselves, live outwardly as Muslims, but continue their secret devotion to Judaism until better times allows them to reemerge as Jews. Hartman calls Maimonides Epistle a treatment of the question of unheroic behavior. Is matyrdom the only choice?
I hear the echoes of these texts and the accounts of more recent times such as the Shoah. What is the heroic path for Jews today? In the heat of argument in Israel it is the settlers who see themselves as spurned heroes, defending the land, guardians of the outposts facing the enemy. But many in the country do not see them as heroes. There are many who once saw them as heroes but no longer feel this way. In the age of disengagement it is hard to point to heroes. This is the age of accomodation to harsh realities. It is not at all like Jews in Maimonides times who made decisions from a stance of profound vulnerability. Instead Israel has to weigh the limits of its power and the limits of its heroics. During this month as Israel attempts to leave Gaza, it will have to leave behind its illusions about what consitutes a Jewish hero. A new form of heroism will have to emerge.
Rabbi Dov Gartenberg
7/18/05, Jerusalem
As I right thousands of opponents to the disengagement are descending on the boundary of Gaza to confront 20,000 police and soldiers who will not let them enter the closed off Strip. This is just a few days after Hamas send Qassam rockets into Israel and a suicide bomber killed five in Netanya. The papers are filled page to page with coverage of the rising tension and everyone here is nervous about violence breaking out from one of several directions. As you can imagine it is hard to concentrate on anything else. But it should be emphasized that most Israelis support the disengagement and that most of Israel is engaged in a regular work day.
The opponents of the disengagement wear orange ribbons while the proponentss wear blue. A colleague suggested that orange connoted fire and blue connoted ice. Certainly the passion and zeal flows from the settlers and their supporters who seem to get more and more enraged by the day. It is hard to get passionate about disengagement. Its the right thing to do, but no one savors it, especially as everyone here expects chaos to reign in Gaza when Israel leaves. I am one of the icy ones, because I fear the fires ignited by the religious fervor of the settlers will scorch us all.
I am struck by how far Sharon is prepared to go to make the disengagement happen. He has closed Gaza. He has deployed thousands of troops to deter protesters. The authorities have declard the today's huge protest at the southern border to be illegal. People in buses headed to Gaza are being stopped by police in an effort to prevent them from reaching a march at which the organizers are expecting 100,000 people. It appears that Sharon will do almost anything to stop the settlers and their supporters from slowing down the evacuation. My view is that he is showing Abbas the type of political needed to suppress extremists. Abbas is weak. Sharon is not. The bulldozer will crush his opposition. How ironic that Sharon, the champion of the settlers is villified by them and will not back down before their fury. It is amazing to watch all this transpire before our eyes. No one knows how this will turn out. But the next few days appear to be pivotal.
Meanwhile I am in what I call the Hartman bubble. In the Hartman bubble we sail around Jewish history and thought without the distractions of events of the day. We are here to reflect and absorb and shlep our insights back to America. I would say that the spirit of Yochanan ben Zakkai hovers in this place. He was a rabbi who stepped out of Jewish history to continue Judaism in the beit midrash. He was a rabbi who lived during the revolt against Rome. He realized that history would not be kind to the Jews so he decided he had to bring together the rabbis, make accomodation with Rome, and perpetuate Judaism through his gatherings of the sages.
We are not in such dire straights, but Israel's historical current historical drama can become an obsessive concern. So we use the old rabbinic technique of returning to the texts to leave history for a while and see Judaism, Jews, and humanity with the longer view. I come to Israel in the summers to study at the wonderful institute for the month in a special program for rabbis from around North America. This summer the theme is religion, ethics, and violence. So instead of hanging out at demonstrations or making field trips to Gaza or the West Bank, we struggle with the issues as faced by previous generations. The past speaks then in the midst of this uncertain present.
Today David Hartman taught us one of the great texts in Jewish history: the Epistle on Matyrdom. Over 800 years ago Maimonides lost his temper when he read about a rabbi who gave bad advice to Jews who were forcibly converted to Islam. The rabbi urged them to matyr themselves instead of carrying on as Jews in secret. Maimonides rejected with fury the all or nothing approach of his colleague. He argues that the Jews should not matyr themselves, live outwardly as Muslims, but continue their secret devotion to Judaism until better times allows them to reemerge as Jews. Hartman calls Maimonides Epistle a treatment of the question of unheroic behavior. Is matyrdom the only choice?
I hear the echoes of these texts and the accounts of more recent times such as the Shoah. What is the heroic path for Jews today? In the heat of argument in Israel it is the settlers who see themselves as spurned heroes, defending the land, guardians of the outposts facing the enemy. But many in the country do not see them as heroes. There are many who once saw them as heroes but no longer feel this way. In the age of disengagement it is hard to point to heroes. This is the age of accomodation to harsh realities. It is not at all like Jews in Maimonides times who made decisions from a stance of profound vulnerability. Instead Israel has to weigh the limits of its power and the limits of its heroics. During this month as Israel attempts to leave Gaza, it will have to leave behind its illusions about what consitutes a Jewish hero. A new form of heroism will have to emerge.
Rabbi Dov Gartenberg
7/18/05, Jerusalem
Sunday, July 17, 2005
A Unique High Holiday Experience, Talaris Conference Center, Seattle, WA
A Unique High Holiday Experience, Talaris Conference Center, Seattle, WA
Panim Hadashot will offer a unique and innovative 2005 High Holiday Experience at the Talaris Conference Center open to the Jewish Community in October. We suggest a donation of $180 per person to become a Panim Hadashot Haver-Friend in support of our programming. Please note that you must rsvp for each event you wish to attend (i.e. Rosh Hashannah Seder, Encountering the Great Themes of Rosh Hashannah, Shaarei Tikvah, and Encountering the Great Themes of Yom Kippur).
The Panim Hadashot High Holiday Program is summarized below:
Entering the Holidays Around the Table: Rosh Hashannah Seder-Ritual Feast
Monday, Oct. 3, 2005 6 p.m. Talaris Conference Center Dining Hall.
Join us as we begin the days of Awe together with the unique feast of Rosh Hashannah called the ‘Seder Y'hi Ratzon’. As with all Jewish sacred feasts the rituals, the food, and the song of this seder move us into the distinctive mood mood of this period known in tradition as the Days of Awe. Come experience a beautiful and memorable gathering and an opportunity to participate in a distinctive and beautiful Jewish tradition that sets the tone for the new year. Dietary Laws observed.
Reservations for the Rosh Hashannah Seder are accepted by mail only with $40 per person payment. Please send check payable to Panim Hadashot to "RH Seder, Panim Hadashot, P.O. Box 15151, Seattle, WA 98115. Please note the number of people in your party.
Encountering the Great Themes of Rosh Hashannah: An Afternoon of Learning and Dialogue with Rabbi Dov Gartenberg and Dr. John Gottman
Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2005 12:30-4:15
Because of space constraints, email reservations are required for this free program. Please respond to rsvp@panimhadashot.com. In the subject line include "RH" and note the number of people in your party.
Starting with the blowing of the Shofar, we will gather for an afternoon of rich learning and public conversation on two great themes of Rosh Hashannah. Dr. John Gottman, the world-renowned scholar on marriage and family, will join Rabbi Gartenberg in a study of traditional texts on the theme of Teshuvah-repentance with the focus on Jewish and modern teachings on the repair of relationships. How do we seriously apply Teshuvah to our lives and to the most important people in our lives?
Following this stimulating conversation, we join for an interactive Torah reading of the Binding of Isaac from chapter 22 of Genesis. Rabbi Gartenberg will take us on a journey through some of the great commentaries that attempt to understand this most perplexing and disturbing text about a father and son and of God and His adherent.
The afternoon will conclude with Tashlich on the beautiful grounds of the Talaris conference center.
12:30 Shofar Blasts
12:45-2:30 The Mitzvah of Teshuvah: Repairing Relationships (Gottman and Gartenberg)
2:45-4:15 70 Faces of Torah: Interactive Encounter with Torah on Genesis 22-The Binding of Isaac.
4:15-4:30 Tashlich-Casting ceremony
Shaarei Tikvah-Gates of Hope: Rosh Hashannah Service for Persons with Special Needs and Their Families.
Tues. October 4th. 4:45-5:30pm Service; 5:30-6:15pm Tashlich and Refreshment.
Talaris Cedar Room.
Because of space constraints, email reservations are required for this free program. Please respond to rsvp@panimhadashot.com. In the subject line include "ST" and note the number of people in your party.
A community wide non-denominational service for persons with developmental disabilities or mental illness, their families, and supporters in the Jewish community cosponsored by the Jewish Family Service. The service will be lead by Rabbi Dov Gartenberg and Cantor Serkin-Poole of Temple B’nai Torah.
Encountering the Great Themes of Yom Kippur: An Afternoon of Learning and Dialogue with Rabbi Dov Gartenberg and Dr. John Gottman
Thursday, October 13th. 2:00-7:10pm. Talaris Cedar Room
Because of space constraints, email reservations are required for this free program. Please respond to rsvp@panimhadashot.com. In the subject line include "YK" and note the number of people in your party.
Opening with moving Yizkor-the Yom Kippur memorial service, Panim Hadashot presents an afternoon dedicated to exploring the great theme of Yom Kippur and of the High Holidays, Teshuvah-Repentance and Change. Rabbi Gartenberg will lead an encounter with the book of Jonah, traditionally read on Yom Kippur afternoon. Dr. John Gottman will follow with the second dialogue on the theme of Teshuvah. We will conclude with a simple closing service-Neilah-followed by the final blast of the shofar to end the fast day.
2:00-2:30 Yizkor-Memorial Service
2:45-4:30 70 Faces of Torah: Interactive Encounter with the chapter 4 in the Book of Jonah: God and Teshuvah. Rabbi Dov Gartenberg
4:45-6:30 The Mitzvah of Teshuvah: Repairing Relationships (Gottman and Gartenberg)
6:40-7:10 Neilah-Closing of the Gates and Shofar blast
Location: Talaris Conference Center
Nestled against a large wildlife pond, Talaris Conference Center is located on an 18-acre wooded oasis of lovely landscaped lawns, courtyards, and walking paths. It is located in the Laurelhurst neighborhood just blocks from the University of Washington and features a beautiful dining hall and the cedar room where the High Holiday programs will take place.
Panim Hadashot will offer a unique and innovative 2005 High Holiday Experience at the Talaris Conference Center open to the Jewish Community in October. We suggest a donation of $180 per person to become a Panim Hadashot Haver-Friend in support of our programming. Please note that you must rsvp for each event you wish to attend (i.e. Rosh Hashannah Seder, Encountering the Great Themes of Rosh Hashannah, Shaarei Tikvah, and Encountering the Great Themes of Yom Kippur).
The Panim Hadashot High Holiday Program is summarized below:
Entering the Holidays Around the Table: Rosh Hashannah Seder-Ritual Feast
Monday, Oct. 3, 2005 6 p.m. Talaris Conference Center Dining Hall.
Join us as we begin the days of Awe together with the unique feast of Rosh Hashannah called the ‘Seder Y'hi Ratzon’. As with all Jewish sacred feasts the rituals, the food, and the song of this seder move us into the distinctive mood mood of this period known in tradition as the Days of Awe. Come experience a beautiful and memorable gathering and an opportunity to participate in a distinctive and beautiful Jewish tradition that sets the tone for the new year. Dietary Laws observed.
Reservations for the Rosh Hashannah Seder are accepted by mail only with $40 per person payment. Please send check payable to Panim Hadashot to "RH Seder, Panim Hadashot, P.O. Box 15151, Seattle, WA 98115. Please note the number of people in your party.
Encountering the Great Themes of Rosh Hashannah: An Afternoon of Learning and Dialogue with Rabbi Dov Gartenberg and Dr. John Gottman
Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2005 12:30-4:15
Because of space constraints, email reservations are required for this free program. Please respond to rsvp@panimhadashot.com. In the subject line include "RH" and note the number of people in your party.
Starting with the blowing of the Shofar, we will gather for an afternoon of rich learning and public conversation on two great themes of Rosh Hashannah. Dr. John Gottman, the world-renowned scholar on marriage and family, will join Rabbi Gartenberg in a study of traditional texts on the theme of Teshuvah-repentance with the focus on Jewish and modern teachings on the repair of relationships. How do we seriously apply Teshuvah to our lives and to the most important people in our lives?
Following this stimulating conversation, we join for an interactive Torah reading of the Binding of Isaac from chapter 22 of Genesis. Rabbi Gartenberg will take us on a journey through some of the great commentaries that attempt to understand this most perplexing and disturbing text about a father and son and of God and His adherent.
The afternoon will conclude with Tashlich on the beautiful grounds of the Talaris conference center.
12:30 Shofar Blasts
12:45-2:30 The Mitzvah of Teshuvah: Repairing Relationships (Gottman and Gartenberg)
2:45-4:15 70 Faces of Torah: Interactive Encounter with Torah on Genesis 22-The Binding of Isaac.
4:15-4:30 Tashlich-Casting ceremony
Shaarei Tikvah-Gates of Hope: Rosh Hashannah Service for Persons with Special Needs and Their Families.
Tues. October 4th. 4:45-5:30pm Service; 5:30-6:15pm Tashlich and Refreshment.
Talaris Cedar Room.
Because of space constraints, email reservations are required for this free program. Please respond to rsvp@panimhadashot.com. In the subject line include "ST" and note the number of people in your party.
A community wide non-denominational service for persons with developmental disabilities or mental illness, their families, and supporters in the Jewish community cosponsored by the Jewish Family Service. The service will be lead by Rabbi Dov Gartenberg and Cantor Serkin-Poole of Temple B’nai Torah.
Encountering the Great Themes of Yom Kippur: An Afternoon of Learning and Dialogue with Rabbi Dov Gartenberg and Dr. John Gottman
Thursday, October 13th. 2:00-7:10pm. Talaris Cedar Room
Because of space constraints, email reservations are required for this free program. Please respond to rsvp@panimhadashot.com. In the subject line include "YK" and note the number of people in your party.
Opening with moving Yizkor-the Yom Kippur memorial service, Panim Hadashot presents an afternoon dedicated to exploring the great theme of Yom Kippur and of the High Holidays, Teshuvah-Repentance and Change. Rabbi Gartenberg will lead an encounter with the book of Jonah, traditionally read on Yom Kippur afternoon. Dr. John Gottman will follow with the second dialogue on the theme of Teshuvah. We will conclude with a simple closing service-Neilah-followed by the final blast of the shofar to end the fast day.
2:00-2:30 Yizkor-Memorial Service
2:45-4:30 70 Faces of Torah: Interactive Encounter with the chapter 4 in the Book of Jonah: God and Teshuvah. Rabbi Dov Gartenberg
4:45-6:30 The Mitzvah of Teshuvah: Repairing Relationships (Gottman and Gartenberg)
6:40-7:10 Neilah-Closing of the Gates and Shofar blast
Location: Talaris Conference Center
Nestled against a large wildlife pond, Talaris Conference Center is located on an 18-acre wooded oasis of lovely landscaped lawns, courtyards, and walking paths. It is located in the Laurelhurst neighborhood just blocks from the University of Washington and features a beautiful dining hall and the cedar room where the High Holiday programs will take place.
Sunday, July 10, 2005
Baggage
Baggage
Rabbi Dov Gartenberg
Jerusalem, 7/10/05
I translate Hebrew expression Marit Ayin to mean “attracting the evil eye”. Traditionally the term is used to refer to behavior of a religious Jew that is likely to be misinterpreted by an onlooker. The fear is that the onlooker may judge the Jew harshly for behavior that was not intended to be wrong. In contemporary Israel, the term is used to refer to anyone who uses Jewish religious symbols for a particular political cause that leads a cheapening of those religious symbols in the eyes of the public.
For instance, I heard this week a speaker criticize the settlers in Gaza who cover themselves in tallitot when presenting their case against the withdrawal and evacuation of Gaza. This was a Marit Ayin for many in the Israeli public who react in disgust to the settler’s perceived stridency and fanaticism. The fear is that more people will develop negative feelings for sacred Jewish objects and for the Judaism espoused by the settlers. Unfortunately, a very negative attitude toward religious Judaism is hardening among Israel’s majority of secular citizens.
In Israel this is how many beloved and core practices of Jewish life acquire ‘baggage’. We use ‘baggage’ to refer to complicated chapters of our past, troubled relationships to parents, siblings, relatives. Many people talk about baggage with their religious heritage, bad experiences in religious school, with a teacher or a rabbi, or with an institution. Israel in this sense is baggage central because not only do you have the normal range of ‘baggage’ possibilities with families, local religious figures and institutions the national media serves as a clearinghouse for every alienating use of religion by national figures and causes.
In America we are now experiencing a more strident public discourse on religion in the public square. In Israel it is hard to describe the conflicts over religion as discourse, but rather a shouting match. This leads to widespread disgust and alienation. The use of settlers of Jewish symbols is just another chapter in Israel of groups resorting to ‘public demonstrations’ of Judaism for their own purposes. It is very hard to advocate for progressive Jewish causes in
Israel because of the widespread cynicism about Judaism in the public square. But there are many outstanding organizations that work tirelessly to project a moderate and ethical Judasim into the public realm. I was drawn to the Hartman Institute because of the courageous attempt by its founder, Rabbi David Hartman, to create an alternative discourse on Judaism.
The Institute brings people together to fashion a public Judaism that honors the past but broadens the range of legitimate Jewish expression. By creating a place where Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, and secular Jews can learn together, the institute requires all who learn there to dialogue with each other. The teachers and students at Hartman occupy the vital center of Judaism in Israel middle of Jewish life. It is where you can go to recover a sense of the greatness of Judaism.
I have been attending seminars at the Hartman Institute since the late 80s and now participate in a more intensive three-year seminar for twenty five North American rabbis of all streams. The Hartman Institute is one of the main models for Panim Hadashot-New Faces of Judaism. The focus on learning, the centrality of the great Jewish texts, and the pluralistic foundation directly influenced the approach of Panim Hadashot.
My hope is that Panim Hadashot can help Jews deal with their baggage, overcoming negative and disappointing experiences that have marred people’s lives. The way to do this is to create the best conditions for people to encounter a vital Judaism. Over the past year so many people told me how their attitude toward Judaism had changed after studying or celebrating with us. So much of contemporary Jewish life is about changing attitudes, opening up the richness of tradition, and rediscovering the joyful nature of Judaism. In an age of religious fundamentalism and violence, the need for a positive, passionate, and humane expression of religion is the order of the day.
Rabbi Dov Gartenberg
Jerusalem, 7/10/05
I translate Hebrew expression Marit Ayin to mean “attracting the evil eye”. Traditionally the term is used to refer to behavior of a religious Jew that is likely to be misinterpreted by an onlooker. The fear is that the onlooker may judge the Jew harshly for behavior that was not intended to be wrong. In contemporary Israel, the term is used to refer to anyone who uses Jewish religious symbols for a particular political cause that leads a cheapening of those religious symbols in the eyes of the public.
For instance, I heard this week a speaker criticize the settlers in Gaza who cover themselves in tallitot when presenting their case against the withdrawal and evacuation of Gaza. This was a Marit Ayin for many in the Israeli public who react in disgust to the settler’s perceived stridency and fanaticism. The fear is that more people will develop negative feelings for sacred Jewish objects and for the Judaism espoused by the settlers. Unfortunately, a very negative attitude toward religious Judaism is hardening among Israel’s majority of secular citizens.
In Israel this is how many beloved and core practices of Jewish life acquire ‘baggage’. We use ‘baggage’ to refer to complicated chapters of our past, troubled relationships to parents, siblings, relatives. Many people talk about baggage with their religious heritage, bad experiences in religious school, with a teacher or a rabbi, or with an institution. Israel in this sense is baggage central because not only do you have the normal range of ‘baggage’ possibilities with families, local religious figures and institutions the national media serves as a clearinghouse for every alienating use of religion by national figures and causes.
In America we are now experiencing a more strident public discourse on religion in the public square. In Israel it is hard to describe the conflicts over religion as discourse, but rather a shouting match. This leads to widespread disgust and alienation. The use of settlers of Jewish symbols is just another chapter in Israel of groups resorting to ‘public demonstrations’ of Judaism for their own purposes. It is very hard to advocate for progressive Jewish causes in
Israel because of the widespread cynicism about Judaism in the public square. But there are many outstanding organizations that work tirelessly to project a moderate and ethical Judasim into the public realm. I was drawn to the Hartman Institute because of the courageous attempt by its founder, Rabbi David Hartman, to create an alternative discourse on Judaism.
The Institute brings people together to fashion a public Judaism that honors the past but broadens the range of legitimate Jewish expression. By creating a place where Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, and secular Jews can learn together, the institute requires all who learn there to dialogue with each other. The teachers and students at Hartman occupy the vital center of Judaism in Israel middle of Jewish life. It is where you can go to recover a sense of the greatness of Judaism.
I have been attending seminars at the Hartman Institute since the late 80s and now participate in a more intensive three-year seminar for twenty five North American rabbis of all streams. The Hartman Institute is one of the main models for Panim Hadashot-New Faces of Judaism. The focus on learning, the centrality of the great Jewish texts, and the pluralistic foundation directly influenced the approach of Panim Hadashot.
My hope is that Panim Hadashot can help Jews deal with their baggage, overcoming negative and disappointing experiences that have marred people’s lives. The way to do this is to create the best conditions for people to encounter a vital Judaism. Over the past year so many people told me how their attitude toward Judaism had changed after studying or celebrating with us. So much of contemporary Jewish life is about changing attitudes, opening up the richness of tradition, and rediscovering the joyful nature of Judaism. In an age of religious fundamentalism and violence, the need for a positive, passionate, and humane expression of religion is the order of the day.
Wednesday, July 6, 2005
Report from Israel
Dear Friends,
I am writing to you from Moshavah Germanit, the German Colony neighborhood in Jerusalem. I am here for intensive study at the Shalom Hartman Institute for the month of July. I am a fellow in their Center for Rabbinic Enrichment program in which 25 North American rabbis from all over North America to study in Jerusalem and by remote video conference for a period of 3 years. During this time we study sources from the biblical, rabbinic, and later ages which shed light on the key issues facing the Jewish people in our times. I have been associated with the institute since the early 90s and learning here has sustained my rabbinic career and commitment. This summer our topic which guides our learning is Relgion, Ethics, and Violence. We are exploring a number of important questions including: the morality of war in Jewish tradition; Is God and Torah the only source of morality in Judaism; the theological foundation of Tzedaka and obligation to the other. The signature at Hartman is extraordinary teaching and dialogue which makes it the great center of Jewish learning and intellectual life widely respected around the world. My task during these sessions is to develop my thinking and to transmit the learning and insights I have here to my community in the Pacific Northwest. Over the next year I will integrate the learning here with much of the Panim Hadashot program.
Besides the great learning, I am an active observer in the present moment in Israel. Israel is full of visitors this summer as the security situation has vastly improved after four years of the 2nd Intifada. The streets are filled with tourists. It is hard to find a hotel room in town. The cafes, including the ones which were targets of attacks during bleaker times, are filled with people all hours of the night.
The first thing you notice here is the new color code which marks the political divide in Israel. Orange ribbons on cars and clothes mark one's opposition to the disengagement plan of the Sharon government. Blue ribbons are taken up by those who support the disengagement and the evacuation of the settlers in Gaza. The whole country nervously awaits the August deadline when the army will begin mass evacuations, probably in the face of fierce opposition from many of the settlers and their supporters. There have already been isolated violent incidents including a startlin lynching of a Palestinian teenager by radical settlers last week. There has some Kassam rocket attacks from extremists in Gaza, but overall the situation remains in a brittle calm. People are bracing form more difficulty as the August deadline approaches.
Jerusalem is calm, yet it is a mirror for these tensions with such a strong mix of different religious communities, Palestinian neighborhoods, and secular neighborhoods. Right now it seems sufficient for most to display their colors to let people know where they stand.
We heard the Israeli political philosopher-labor politician, Yuli Tamir, on the second night of the program. She gave a very excellent analysis of the 'matzav' situation. She argued that the disengagement is inevitable and that the real question now is whether the increasingly hysterical opposition of the settlers would lead to a serious delegitimization of the political process and democracy in Israel. The growing radicalization of the religious settlers has been accompanied by calls of their rabbis to settler soldiers to refuse to obey orders from Israeli officers. She cited the bumper sticker of choice of the opponents: Yehudi lo megaresh yehudi-" A Jew does not expell a Jew" as an example of their high stakes language. Her fear is that a large and serious divide is developing in Israel between the predominantly Orthodox settlement movement and the broader secular Israeli society. The continued appropriation of religious symbols by the settlers will lead to a more serious cultural divide in Israel in which the respect for Judaism and Jewish traditions will be deeply damaged within a public that equates it with narrow mindedness and political violence.
In Israel politics and religion are deeply mixed up in ways that make the American debate over religion in public life look mild. But that is why it is always interesting to be here. More later.
Shalom uvrachah,
Rabbi Dov Gartenberg
I am writing to you from Moshavah Germanit, the German Colony neighborhood in Jerusalem. I am here for intensive study at the Shalom Hartman Institute for the month of July. I am a fellow in their Center for Rabbinic Enrichment program in which 25 North American rabbis from all over North America to study in Jerusalem and by remote video conference for a period of 3 years. During this time we study sources from the biblical, rabbinic, and later ages which shed light on the key issues facing the Jewish people in our times. I have been associated with the institute since the early 90s and learning here has sustained my rabbinic career and commitment. This summer our topic which guides our learning is Relgion, Ethics, and Violence. We are exploring a number of important questions including: the morality of war in Jewish tradition; Is God and Torah the only source of morality in Judaism; the theological foundation of Tzedaka and obligation to the other. The signature at Hartman is extraordinary teaching and dialogue which makes it the great center of Jewish learning and intellectual life widely respected around the world. My task during these sessions is to develop my thinking and to transmit the learning and insights I have here to my community in the Pacific Northwest. Over the next year I will integrate the learning here with much of the Panim Hadashot program.
Besides the great learning, I am an active observer in the present moment in Israel. Israel is full of visitors this summer as the security situation has vastly improved after four years of the 2nd Intifada. The streets are filled with tourists. It is hard to find a hotel room in town. The cafes, including the ones which were targets of attacks during bleaker times, are filled with people all hours of the night.
The first thing you notice here is the new color code which marks the political divide in Israel. Orange ribbons on cars and clothes mark one's opposition to the disengagement plan of the Sharon government. Blue ribbons are taken up by those who support the disengagement and the evacuation of the settlers in Gaza. The whole country nervously awaits the August deadline when the army will begin mass evacuations, probably in the face of fierce opposition from many of the settlers and their supporters. There have already been isolated violent incidents including a startlin lynching of a Palestinian teenager by radical settlers last week. There has some Kassam rocket attacks from extremists in Gaza, but overall the situation remains in a brittle calm. People are bracing form more difficulty as the August deadline approaches.
Jerusalem is calm, yet it is a mirror for these tensions with such a strong mix of different religious communities, Palestinian neighborhoods, and secular neighborhoods. Right now it seems sufficient for most to display their colors to let people know where they stand.
We heard the Israeli political philosopher-labor politician, Yuli Tamir, on the second night of the program. She gave a very excellent analysis of the 'matzav' situation. She argued that the disengagement is inevitable and that the real question now is whether the increasingly hysterical opposition of the settlers would lead to a serious delegitimization of the political process and democracy in Israel. The growing radicalization of the religious settlers has been accompanied by calls of their rabbis to settler soldiers to refuse to obey orders from Israeli officers. She cited the bumper sticker of choice of the opponents: Yehudi lo megaresh yehudi-" A Jew does not expell a Jew" as an example of their high stakes language. Her fear is that a large and serious divide is developing in Israel between the predominantly Orthodox settlement movement and the broader secular Israeli society. The continued appropriation of religious symbols by the settlers will lead to a more serious cultural divide in Israel in which the respect for Judaism and Jewish traditions will be deeply damaged within a public that equates it with narrow mindedness and political violence.
In Israel politics and religion are deeply mixed up in ways that make the American debate over religion in public life look mild. But that is why it is always interesting to be here. More later.
Shalom uvrachah,
Rabbi Dov Gartenberg
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Panim Hadashot, a new Seattle area Jewish education organization, receives the Levitan Innovation Award
Deb Frockt, Director of OperationsPanim Hadashot
press@panimhadashot.com
Friday, July 1, 2005, Seattle, WA - At the recent Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle Annual Meeting Panim Hadashot (www.panimhadashot.com), New Faces of Judaism, received the Levitan Innovation Award. The award seeks to stimulate and encourage organizations, synagogues, agencies and individuals to develop programming with new and different approaches aimed at fostering and/or increasing engagement in Jewish life in the greater Puget Sound Area.
Panim Hadsashot was granted the award for its innovative work on the “Shabbat Around Seattle” program. As winners of the award, Panim Hadashot will receive a $10,000 grant to directly support of the program. “We are greatly honored and excited by this recognition,” said Rabbi Dov Gartenberg, Panim Hadashot’s Rabbi and Founder. “We would like to thank Dan and Stacey Levitan for creating this award as well as the review committee for choosing our organization. We applaud the creation of this award that will spur creativity and innovation in our community.”
Panim Hadashot views Shabbat as Judaism’s great innovation and enduring contribution to the world. Shabbat Around Seattle is a Shabbat-centered Jewish learning and outreach project that models the Shabbat home experience in homes around Seattle, providing a rich menu of Shabbat activities that build fellowship and stimulate learning about Judaism. The program offers a mobile and portable Jewish program that moves to a different neighborhood each month, creating sacred Shabbat experiences through feasts, learning, conversation and song, with each program featuring Jewish learning and dialogue connected to a particular theme. Rabbi Gartenberg, resides with the hosts and serves as resident teacher, seder co-leader, and Shabbat co-host. Through Rabbi Gartenberg’s skillful and accessible presence, hosts and guests renew and deepen their Shabbat practices and gain the confidence to create beautiful and meaningful Shabbat celebrations in their own homes. Those interested in participating in the program as a host or as a guest, please contact Rabbi Gartenberg (rabbidov@panimhadashot.com) to make arrangements for when the program resumes in September after a summer hiatus.
About Panim Hadashot: Panim Hadashot (www.panimhadashot.com), New Faces of Judaism was founded in 2004 by Rabbi Dov Gartenberg and is a new Jewish endeavor of learning, celebration, and outreach. Panim Hadashot is not a synagogue. Rather it is a Beit Midrash - a house of learning. We offer a welcoming place for a wider circle of Jews and others who are seeking a passionate and open-minded Judaism. Panim Hadashot conveys a Judaism that is joyful and humane, spiritually and ethically rich, and encouraging of diverse forms of Jewish expression.
Panim Hadashot is the winner of the Levitan Innovation Award for our Shabbat Around Seattle program. Panim Hadashot is endorsed by the Union for Reform Judaism and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and is a registered 501(c)(3) organization.
press@panimhadashot.com
Friday, July 1, 2005, Seattle, WA - At the recent Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle Annual Meeting Panim Hadashot (www.panimhadashot.com), New Faces of Judaism, received the Levitan Innovation Award. The award seeks to stimulate and encourage organizations, synagogues, agencies and individuals to develop programming with new and different approaches aimed at fostering and/or increasing engagement in Jewish life in the greater Puget Sound Area.
Panim Hadsashot was granted the award for its innovative work on the “Shabbat Around Seattle” program. As winners of the award, Panim Hadashot will receive a $10,000 grant to directly support of the program. “We are greatly honored and excited by this recognition,” said Rabbi Dov Gartenberg, Panim Hadashot’s Rabbi and Founder. “We would like to thank Dan and Stacey Levitan for creating this award as well as the review committee for choosing our organization. We applaud the creation of this award that will spur creativity and innovation in our community.”
Panim Hadashot views Shabbat as Judaism’s great innovation and enduring contribution to the world. Shabbat Around Seattle is a Shabbat-centered Jewish learning and outreach project that models the Shabbat home experience in homes around Seattle, providing a rich menu of Shabbat activities that build fellowship and stimulate learning about Judaism. The program offers a mobile and portable Jewish program that moves to a different neighborhood each month, creating sacred Shabbat experiences through feasts, learning, conversation and song, with each program featuring Jewish learning and dialogue connected to a particular theme. Rabbi Gartenberg, resides with the hosts and serves as resident teacher, seder co-leader, and Shabbat co-host. Through Rabbi Gartenberg’s skillful and accessible presence, hosts and guests renew and deepen their Shabbat practices and gain the confidence to create beautiful and meaningful Shabbat celebrations in their own homes. Those interested in participating in the program as a host or as a guest, please contact Rabbi Gartenberg (rabbidov@panimhadashot.com) to make arrangements for when the program resumes in September after a summer hiatus.
About Panim Hadashot: Panim Hadashot (www.panimhadashot.com), New Faces of Judaism was founded in 2004 by Rabbi Dov Gartenberg and is a new Jewish endeavor of learning, celebration, and outreach. Panim Hadashot is not a synagogue. Rather it is a Beit Midrash - a house of learning. We offer a welcoming place for a wider circle of Jews and others who are seeking a passionate and open-minded Judaism. Panim Hadashot conveys a Judaism that is joyful and humane, spiritually and ethically rich, and encouraging of diverse forms of Jewish expression.
Panim Hadashot is the winner of the Levitan Innovation Award for our Shabbat Around Seattle program. Panim Hadashot is endorsed by the Union for Reform Judaism and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and is a registered 501(c)(3) organization.
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Weekly Email-June 23rd
Weekly Email-June 23rd
June 23, 2005, 16 Sivan 5765. Volume 1, Issue 24
A Message from Rabbi Gartenberg
Panim Hadashot-New Faces of Judaism will take a planned hiatus from programs from this week (June 20th) through the beginning of August. During this time we will be planning our fall programs and events. I will also be in Israel the month of July studying at the Shalom Hartman Institute. We are now completing our first year of activity. During this year we built a new Shabbat experience in Seattle which has touched many people. We created new opportunities for many to experience the beauty of Judaism. Panim Hadashot fostered ways in which people could be enlightened by Torah and Jewish learning. I wish to thank the many people across the Jewish community who have supported the efforts of Panim Hadashot with their time, ideas, and financial resources. I especially want to thank the leadership of Panim Hadashot for being partners with me in implementing a vision for our Jewish community.
Panim Hadashot means new face or new faces. We chose a name which is not immediately accessible to the non-Hebrew speaker. Yet, we chose it because it forces us at every turn to explain its beautiful and multi-faceted meanings. Panim Hadashot-new faces describes the Jewish tradition's insistence on the sharing of our joy with others. It is a term which also means 'many facets'. Another tradition uses the term to describe the holy Shabbat.
The term Panim Hadashot itself reveals the multifaceted, creative, imaginative, tolerant, welcoming, meaning-laden nature of the Judaism. We teach a pluralistic Judaism, a Judaism of many resonant voices. I acknowledge that there are many versions of Judaism, including intolerant and narrow understandings of Torah. But the passionate commitment of Panim Hadashot is to present an alternative yet very authentic interpretation of Judaism and Torah. The Torah teaches us to be engaged in the world, to affirm its sanctity, to embrace the humanity of the other, to stand up to injustice, to cry out against human cruelty, and to be witnesses to a God who teaches and commands us to live this way. Panim Hadashot seeks to articulate a core message of Judaism which joins our vision of a better world with an affirmation of the uniqueness of the Jewish way of life which refines our humanity through the love of learning, the Sabbath, and a life of caring for and serving others. Please join us in advancing this vision of Judaism.
I will continue to be in touch with you during the summer with occasional emails and writings. We will soon announce our plans for the Fall program which will be posted on the website. I think you will be excited Panim Hadashot's Shabbat programs, learning and dialogue opportunities, and unique outreach activities.
Please go to our website for a fuller view of the scope of Panim Hadashot's activities and approach: www.panimhadashot.com.
Help support the good work of Panim Hadashot: become a haver-a Friend of Panim Hadashot. Click on 'haver' to take you to the site to sign up.
Recent News
On June 9th at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle Annual Meeting Panim Hadashot-New Faces of Judaism received the Levitan Innovation Award.
The award seeks to stimulate and encourage organizations, synagogues, agencies and individuals to develop programming with new and different approaches aimed at fostering and/or increasing engagement in Jewish life in the greater Puget Sound Area.
Panim Hadsashot won the award based on a grant for the Shabbat Around Seattle Program. As winners of the award Panim Hadashot will receive a $10,000 grant in support of the program. We are greatly honored and excited by this recognition. Panim Hadashot thanks the Dan and Stacey Levitan for creating this award and the review committee for electing our organization. We applaud the creation of this award that will spur creativity and innovation in our community.
Below is a summary of the Shabbat Around Seattle program as it was described in the grant proposal.
"Panim Hadashot views Shabbat as Judaism’s great innovation and enduring contribution to the world. Shabbat Around Seattle is a Shabbat-centered Jewish learning and outreach project that models the Shabbat home experience in homes around Seattle, providing a rich menu of Shabbat activities that build fellowship and stimulate learning about Judaism. Our project offers a mobile and portable Jewish program that moves to a different neighborhood each month, creating sacred Shabbat experiences through feasts, learning, conversation and song, with each program featuring Jewish learning and dialogue connected to a particular theme. Our director, Rabbi Gartenberg, resides with the hosts and serves as resident teacher, seder co-leader, and Shabbat co-host. Through Rabbi Gartenberg’s skillful and accessible presence, hosts and guests renew and deepen their Shabbat practices and gain the confidence to create beautiful and meaningful Shabbat celebrations in their own homes."
If you are interested in participating in this program as a host or a guest, please write to Rabbi Dov Gartenberg at rabbidov@panimhadashot.com. Our Shabbat Around Seattle Program will resume in September after a summer hiatus.
June 23, 2005, 16 Sivan 5765. Volume 1, Issue 24
A Message from Rabbi Gartenberg
Panim Hadashot-New Faces of Judaism will take a planned hiatus from programs from this week (June 20th) through the beginning of August. During this time we will be planning our fall programs and events. I will also be in Israel the month of July studying at the Shalom Hartman Institute. We are now completing our first year of activity. During this year we built a new Shabbat experience in Seattle which has touched many people. We created new opportunities for many to experience the beauty of Judaism. Panim Hadashot fostered ways in which people could be enlightened by Torah and Jewish learning. I wish to thank the many people across the Jewish community who have supported the efforts of Panim Hadashot with their time, ideas, and financial resources. I especially want to thank the leadership of Panim Hadashot for being partners with me in implementing a vision for our Jewish community.
Panim Hadashot means new face or new faces. We chose a name which is not immediately accessible to the non-Hebrew speaker. Yet, we chose it because it forces us at every turn to explain its beautiful and multi-faceted meanings. Panim Hadashot-new faces describes the Jewish tradition's insistence on the sharing of our joy with others. It is a term which also means 'many facets'. Another tradition uses the term to describe the holy Shabbat.
The term Panim Hadashot itself reveals the multifaceted, creative, imaginative, tolerant, welcoming, meaning-laden nature of the Judaism. We teach a pluralistic Judaism, a Judaism of many resonant voices. I acknowledge that there are many versions of Judaism, including intolerant and narrow understandings of Torah. But the passionate commitment of Panim Hadashot is to present an alternative yet very authentic interpretation of Judaism and Torah. The Torah teaches us to be engaged in the world, to affirm its sanctity, to embrace the humanity of the other, to stand up to injustice, to cry out against human cruelty, and to be witnesses to a God who teaches and commands us to live this way. Panim Hadashot seeks to articulate a core message of Judaism which joins our vision of a better world with an affirmation of the uniqueness of the Jewish way of life which refines our humanity through the love of learning, the Sabbath, and a life of caring for and serving others. Please join us in advancing this vision of Judaism.
I will continue to be in touch with you during the summer with occasional emails and writings. We will soon announce our plans for the Fall program which will be posted on the website. I think you will be excited Panim Hadashot's Shabbat programs, learning and dialogue opportunities, and unique outreach activities.
Please go to our website for a fuller view of the scope of Panim Hadashot's activities and approach: www.panimhadashot.com.
Help support the good work of Panim Hadashot: become a haver-a Friend of Panim Hadashot. Click on 'haver' to take you to the site to sign up.
Recent News
On June 9th at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle Annual Meeting Panim Hadashot-New Faces of Judaism received the Levitan Innovation Award.
The award seeks to stimulate and encourage organizations, synagogues, agencies and individuals to develop programming with new and different approaches aimed at fostering and/or increasing engagement in Jewish life in the greater Puget Sound Area.
Panim Hadsashot won the award based on a grant for the Shabbat Around Seattle Program. As winners of the award Panim Hadashot will receive a $10,000 grant in support of the program. We are greatly honored and excited by this recognition. Panim Hadashot thanks the Dan and Stacey Levitan for creating this award and the review committee for electing our organization. We applaud the creation of this award that will spur creativity and innovation in our community.
Below is a summary of the Shabbat Around Seattle program as it was described in the grant proposal.
"Panim Hadashot views Shabbat as Judaism’s great innovation and enduring contribution to the world. Shabbat Around Seattle is a Shabbat-centered Jewish learning and outreach project that models the Shabbat home experience in homes around Seattle, providing a rich menu of Shabbat activities that build fellowship and stimulate learning about Judaism. Our project offers a mobile and portable Jewish program that moves to a different neighborhood each month, creating sacred Shabbat experiences through feasts, learning, conversation and song, with each program featuring Jewish learning and dialogue connected to a particular theme. Our director, Rabbi Gartenberg, resides with the hosts and serves as resident teacher, seder co-leader, and Shabbat co-host. Through Rabbi Gartenberg’s skillful and accessible presence, hosts and guests renew and deepen their Shabbat practices and gain the confidence to create beautiful and meaningful Shabbat celebrations in their own homes."
If you are interested in participating in this program as a host or a guest, please write to Rabbi Dov Gartenberg at rabbidov@panimhadashot.com. Our Shabbat Around Seattle Program will resume in September after a summer hiatus.
Sunday, June 12, 2005
Announcements for week of June 12th
Panim Hadashot Announcements for June 12-June 19, 2005
Hag Sameah!!
1. June 17th Panim Hadashot Shabbat Dinner
2. June 18th 70 Faces of Torah-Interactive Shabbat morning Torah Reading
3. June 18th Shabbas Shmooze (Engaging Conversation): Why Be Jewish
4. Recent News: Panim Hadashot selected for Levitan Innovation Award
June 17th Panim Hadashot Shabbat Dinner
Friday Evening, June 17 for singles 40 and over hosted by Rabbi Dov Gartenberg and cosponsored by Lox of Friends 7:00-10:00 pm, at Panim Hadashot Beit Midrash-House of Learning, 3827 NE 90th Street, Seattle, 98115
Rabbi Dov Gartenberg will lead a Shabbat table talk on “Religion in the Public Square: The Debate Among Jews About Public Religiosity.”
Join Lox of Friends and Rabbi Dov Gartenberg for a unique Shabbat dinner with storytelling, humor, song, delicious food, great company and lots of opportunities to learn and share. Potluck Dinner.
Please rsvp at rsvp@panimhadashot.com or call 206 525-0648 #2 by Wednesday evening. We will call you about a dish after you RSVP.This event is limited to 25 persons.
_______________________________________
70 Faces of Torah- June Schedule
June Schedule for Shivim Panim LaTorah. All sessions take place from 10:30-12:00pm on Shabbat mornings at the Panim Hadashot Beit Midrash, 3827 NE 90th St. in North Seattle. D0ors open for light refreshment at 10:15am. No rsvp necessary, but if you are new, let us know you are coming.
For a description of this innovative Shabbat morning program click Shivim Panim
June 18: Portion: Behaalotcha. Numbers 8:1-12:16 We will focus on the dramatic chapter 11 which the rabbis saw as an example of 'chutzpah kelapei shamayim'-audaciousness toward heaven. Why does Judaism glorify frustration with God? What does that mean for us and our relationship with God. Why can faithful people be more chutzpadik than athiests? We'll explore Moshe's famous complaints to God in this light.
June 18th Shabbas Shmooze (Engaging Conversation): Why Be Jewish 4-5:30pm, 3827 NE 90th St.
Come by Rabbi Gartenberg's Home Beit Midrash on Shabbat Afternoon for nosh and conversation on the subject of Why Be Jewish. Join Rabbi Dov, otherwise known as the 'Jewish Baggage Handler' to discuss the impediments and the incentives to living a Jewish life in our times. Be prepared for interesting guests, stimulating conversation, and a restful but engaging Shabbat experience. No rsvp necessary, but let us know you plan to come by sending a note to rsvp@panimhadashot.com or 206 525-0648
Recent News
On June 9th at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle Annual Meeting Panim Hadashot-New Faces of Judaism received the Levitan Innovation Award.
The award seeks to stimulate and encourage organizations, synagogues, agencies and individuals to develop programming with new and different approaches aimed at fostering and/or increasing engagement in Jewish life in the greater Puget Sound Area.
Panim Hadsashot won the award based on a grant for the Shabbat Around Seattle Program. As winners of the award Panim Hadashot will receive a $10,000 grant in support of the program. We are greatly honored and excited by this recognition. Panim Hadashot thanks the Dan and Stacey Levitan for creating this award and the review committee for electing our organization. We applaud the creation of this award that will spur creativity and innovation in our community.
Below is a summary of the Shabbat Around Seattle program as it was described in the grant proposal.
"Panim Hadashot views Shabbat as Judaism’s great innovation and enduring contribution to the world. Shabbat Around Seattle is a Shabbat-centered Jewish learning and outreach project that models the Shabbat home experience in homes around Seattle, providing a rich menu of Shabbat activities that build fellowship and stimulate learning about Judaism. Our project offers a mobile and portable Jewish program that moves to a different neighborhood each month, creating sacred Shabbat experiences through feasts, learning, conversation and song, with each program featuring Jewish learning and dialogue connected to a particular theme. Our director, Rabbi Gartenberg, resides with the hosts and serves as resident teacher, seder co-leader, and Shabbat co-host. Through Rabbi Gartenberg’s skillful and accessible presence, hosts and guests renew and deepen their Shabbat practices and gain the confidence to create beautiful and meaningful Shabbat celebrations in their own homes."
If you are interested in participating in this program as a host or a guest, please write to Rabbi Dov Gartenberg at rabbidov@panimhadashot.com. Our Shabbat Around Seattle Program will resume in September after a summer hiatus.
Hag Sameah!!
1. June 17th Panim Hadashot Shabbat Dinner
2. June 18th 70 Faces of Torah-Interactive Shabbat morning Torah Reading
3. June 18th Shabbas Shmooze (Engaging Conversation): Why Be Jewish
4. Recent News: Panim Hadashot selected for Levitan Innovation Award
June 17th Panim Hadashot Shabbat Dinner
Friday Evening, June 17 for singles 40 and over hosted by Rabbi Dov Gartenberg and cosponsored by Lox of Friends 7:00-10:00 pm, at Panim Hadashot Beit Midrash-House of Learning, 3827 NE 90th Street, Seattle, 98115
Rabbi Dov Gartenberg will lead a Shabbat table talk on “Religion in the Public Square: The Debate Among Jews About Public Religiosity.”
Join Lox of Friends and Rabbi Dov Gartenberg for a unique Shabbat dinner with storytelling, humor, song, delicious food, great company and lots of opportunities to learn and share. Potluck Dinner.
Please rsvp at rsvp@panimhadashot.com or call 206 525-0648 #2 by Wednesday evening. We will call you about a dish after you RSVP.This event is limited to 25 persons.
_______________________________________
70 Faces of Torah- June Schedule
June Schedule for Shivim Panim LaTorah. All sessions take place from 10:30-12:00pm on Shabbat mornings at the Panim Hadashot Beit Midrash, 3827 NE 90th St. in North Seattle. D0ors open for light refreshment at 10:15am. No rsvp necessary, but if you are new, let us know you are coming.
For a description of this innovative Shabbat morning program click Shivim Panim
June 18: Portion: Behaalotcha. Numbers 8:1-12:16 We will focus on the dramatic chapter 11 which the rabbis saw as an example of 'chutzpah kelapei shamayim'-audaciousness toward heaven. Why does Judaism glorify frustration with God? What does that mean for us and our relationship with God. Why can faithful people be more chutzpadik than athiests? We'll explore Moshe's famous complaints to God in this light.
June 18th Shabbas Shmooze (Engaging Conversation): Why Be Jewish 4-5:30pm, 3827 NE 90th St.
Come by Rabbi Gartenberg's Home Beit Midrash on Shabbat Afternoon for nosh and conversation on the subject of Why Be Jewish. Join Rabbi Dov, otherwise known as the 'Jewish Baggage Handler' to discuss the impediments and the incentives to living a Jewish life in our times. Be prepared for interesting guests, stimulating conversation, and a restful but engaging Shabbat experience. No rsvp necessary, but let us know you plan to come by sending a note to rsvp@panimhadashot.com or 206 525-0648
Recent News
On June 9th at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle Annual Meeting Panim Hadashot-New Faces of Judaism received the Levitan Innovation Award.
The award seeks to stimulate and encourage organizations, synagogues, agencies and individuals to develop programming with new and different approaches aimed at fostering and/or increasing engagement in Jewish life in the greater Puget Sound Area.
Panim Hadsashot won the award based on a grant for the Shabbat Around Seattle Program. As winners of the award Panim Hadashot will receive a $10,000 grant in support of the program. We are greatly honored and excited by this recognition. Panim Hadashot thanks the Dan and Stacey Levitan for creating this award and the review committee for electing our organization. We applaud the creation of this award that will spur creativity and innovation in our community.
Below is a summary of the Shabbat Around Seattle program as it was described in the grant proposal.
"Panim Hadashot views Shabbat as Judaism’s great innovation and enduring contribution to the world. Shabbat Around Seattle is a Shabbat-centered Jewish learning and outreach project that models the Shabbat home experience in homes around Seattle, providing a rich menu of Shabbat activities that build fellowship and stimulate learning about Judaism. Our project offers a mobile and portable Jewish program that moves to a different neighborhood each month, creating sacred Shabbat experiences through feasts, learning, conversation and song, with each program featuring Jewish learning and dialogue connected to a particular theme. Our director, Rabbi Gartenberg, resides with the hosts and serves as resident teacher, seder co-leader, and Shabbat co-host. Through Rabbi Gartenberg’s skillful and accessible presence, hosts and guests renew and deepen their Shabbat practices and gain the confidence to create beautiful and meaningful Shabbat celebrations in their own homes."
If you are interested in participating in this program as a host or a guest, please write to Rabbi Dov Gartenberg at rabbidov@panimhadashot.com. Our Shabbat Around Seattle Program will resume in September after a summer hiatus.
Wednesday, June 8, 2005
Shavuot
Shavuot Late Night Learning, Sunday, June 12th
Panim Hadashot Tikun Lael Shavuot-Shavuot Teach In. Sunday night, June 12th. Panim Hadashot Beit Midrash, 3827 NE 90th St. Seattle, WA 98115
See the updated schedule below.
We are adding a piece for families and young people from 7:45-8:30 which leads into a festive meal from 8:30 to 10:00pm. A Tikkun-Shavuot Torah study will follow which is adult centered. Please rsvp for the evening and let us know which parts you hope to attend. The meal will be dairy potluck. We will be in touch with you about what to bring after we receive your rsvp.
This year we will be sharing the teachings of A.J. Heschel in his recently translated masterpiece: Heavenly Torah. Be prepared for a far-ranging exploration on the how to understand God from traditional and non-traditional points of view. As with all our programs, there is no faith litmus test or agenda beyond a serious engagement with the meaning of Jewish texts and their applicability to how we lead our lives today.
7:45-8:30pm Family Tikkun: Stories on the Giving of the Torah
8:30-10:00pm Dairy Shavuot Feast.
Please rsvp at 206 525-0648 #2 or rsvp@panimhadashot.com.
10:00-12:00pm Tikkun.
What is Torah? On the night of the Giving of the Torah, we will ask the central question of Judaism. Using selections from Heschel's recently translated work, Heavenly Torah, we will explore the opinions in Jewish tradition about what Torah is. Ultimately, we have to answer for ourselves about what Torah means for us as modern Jews. Does it speak to us, command us, guide us? Come prepared to learn, discuss, and come away with new insights.
Panim Hadashot Tikun Lael Shavuot-Shavuot Teach In. Sunday night, June 12th. Panim Hadashot Beit Midrash, 3827 NE 90th St. Seattle, WA 98115
See the updated schedule below.
We are adding a piece for families and young people from 7:45-8:30 which leads into a festive meal from 8:30 to 10:00pm. A Tikkun-Shavuot Torah study will follow which is adult centered. Please rsvp for the evening and let us know which parts you hope to attend. The meal will be dairy potluck. We will be in touch with you about what to bring after we receive your rsvp.
This year we will be sharing the teachings of A.J. Heschel in his recently translated masterpiece: Heavenly Torah. Be prepared for a far-ranging exploration on the how to understand God from traditional and non-traditional points of view. As with all our programs, there is no faith litmus test or agenda beyond a serious engagement with the meaning of Jewish texts and their applicability to how we lead our lives today.
7:45-8:30pm Family Tikkun: Stories on the Giving of the Torah
8:30-10:00pm Dairy Shavuot Feast.
Please rsvp at 206 525-0648 #2 or rsvp@panimhadashot.com.
10:00-12:00pm Tikkun.
What is Torah? On the night of the Giving of the Torah, we will ask the central question of Judaism. Using selections from Heschel's recently translated work, Heavenly Torah, we will explore the opinions in Jewish tradition about what Torah is. Ultimately, we have to answer for ourselves about what Torah means for us as modern Jews. Does it speak to us, command us, guide us? Come prepared to learn, discuss, and come away with new insights.
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Rabbi Donniel Hartman on Jewish Identity, May 20, 2005
Here is a wonderful talk given by Rabbi Donniel Hartman on Jewish identity before a group of Jewish lay and professional leaders on Friday, May 20th. I invited Rabbi Hartman to be the Bierman scholar in residence in Seattle under the auspices of Panim Hadashot and Congregation Beth Shalom. I have the privelege of being a rabbinic fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute which enables us to refelct on cutting edge issues facing modern Judaism. This speech was given at a federation leadership event. Rabbi Hartman is the co-director of the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. Both Rabbi Hartman and Barry Goren of the Jewish Federation have given permission for this talk to be available.
Any one who cares about our community should listen to this outstanding analysis of how Judaism becomes meaningful and compelling in our lives here in America. A second recording of Rabbi Hartman's outstanding speech on Moral Challenges Facing Israel given on May 22nd is located at www.panimhadashot.com in the announcements section.
Rabbi Dov Gartenberg
Download donniel_hartman_on_jewish_identity_52005.WMA
Any one who cares about our community should listen to this outstanding analysis of how Judaism becomes meaningful and compelling in our lives here in America. A second recording of Rabbi Hartman's outstanding speech on Moral Challenges Facing Israel given on May 22nd is located at www.panimhadashot.com in the announcements section.
Rabbi Dov Gartenberg
Download donniel_hartman_on_jewish_identity_52005.WMA
Monday, May 23, 2005
Recording of Rabbi Donniel Hartman on Moral Challenges Facing Israel, May 22, 2005
This is a recording of the outstanding lecture given by Rabbi Donniel Hartman on the Moral Challenges Facing Israel on Sunday, May 22, 2005.
This very original and lucid presentation explores the national identity crisis in Israel provoked by the planned disengagement from Gaza to take place this summer. We make this lecture public because it is an outstanding example of the level of public discourse we seek to foster about Israel and Jewish affairs. Rabbi Hartman is the co-director of the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem and Bierman scholar in resdience for Panim Hadashot-New Faces of Judaism and Congregation Beth Shalom. The recording starts with the talk which lasts @ an hour and is followed by Q and A. We have received permission from Rabbi Hartman to upload his talk to the web.
Rabbi Dov Gartenberg
Download donniel_hartman_on_moral_challenges_facing_israel_52205.WMA
This very original and lucid presentation explores the national identity crisis in Israel provoked by the planned disengagement from Gaza to take place this summer. We make this lecture public because it is an outstanding example of the level of public discourse we seek to foster about Israel and Jewish affairs. Rabbi Hartman is the co-director of the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem and Bierman scholar in resdience for Panim Hadashot-New Faces of Judaism and Congregation Beth Shalom. The recording starts with the talk which lasts @ an hour and is followed by Q and A. We have received permission from Rabbi Hartman to upload his talk to the web.
Rabbi Dov Gartenberg
Download donniel_hartman_on_moral_challenges_facing_israel_52205.WMA
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
Moral Values Divide Recording 5-17-05
Dear Students,
I am attaching the recording for 5/17 for your listening pleasure.
Download moral_values_51705_israel.WMA
Please note that there will not be class on 5/24. The final class has been rescheduled to 5/31 at Beth Am. Please read the texts on Israel that I gave to you earlier. We will focus on the Liebowitz and Ben Gurion text. I would also like to have a siyum-party to conclude our class. Would a student like to volunteer to bring some desserts? Please email me at gartenberg@comcast.net.
Shalom, Rabbi Dov Gartenberg
I am attaching the recording for 5/17 for your listening pleasure.
Download moral_values_51705_israel.WMA
Please note that there will not be class on 5/24. The final class has been rescheduled to 5/31 at Beth Am. Please read the texts on Israel that I gave to you earlier. We will focus on the Liebowitz and Ben Gurion text. I would also like to have a siyum-party to conclude our class. Would a student like to volunteer to bring some desserts? Please email me at gartenberg@comcast.net.
Shalom, Rabbi Dov Gartenberg
Sunday, May 15, 2005
Announcements for Foundations Class 5-15-05
Dear Students of Foundations to Jewish Identity Sunday morning class,
I have attached the voice recording of this morning's class.
Download foundations_51505.WMA
Please note that we will not meet until Sunday, June 5th. Please look at Chapter 19 in the Book of Leviticus for our next class. At this session we will set dates for the fall continuation of the class, so please be sure to attend and bring your calendar. I am also enclosing information about the next weekend's scholar in residence Donniel Hartman. I urge you to attend his lectures. He is a wonderful speaker and teacher.
Shalom, Rabbi Dov
I have attached the voice recording of this morning's class.
Download foundations_51505.WMA
Please note that we will not meet until Sunday, June 5th. Please look at Chapter 19 in the Book of Leviticus for our next class. At this session we will set dates for the fall continuation of the class, so please be sure to attend and bring your calendar. I am also enclosing information about the next weekend's scholar in residence Donniel Hartman. I urge you to attend his lectures. He is a wonderful speaker and teacher.
Shalom, Rabbi Dov
Announcements for Foundations Class 5-15-05
Dear Intro class,
We will meet two more times: 5/25/05 and 6/1/05, both at my home Beit Midrash. Joe Fuller is organizing a dessert potluck siyum (conclusion) for June 1st. Please make sure you can be there. The recording for the 5/18 class is attached which was a close study of Chapter 11 in the Book of Numbers.
Download intro_to_judaism_51805_num. 11.WMA
Our next class will turn to liturgy. We will focus on the Shema Yisrael and the prayers surrounding it to understand a basic liturgical structure and tradition.
Rabbi Dov
We will meet two more times: 5/25/05 and 6/1/05, both at my home Beit Midrash. Joe Fuller is organizing a dessert potluck siyum (conclusion) for June 1st. Please make sure you can be there. The recording for the 5/18 class is attached which was a close study of Chapter 11 in the Book of Numbers.
Download intro_to_judaism_51805_num. 11.WMA
Our next class will turn to liturgy. We will focus on the Shema Yisrael and the prayers surrounding it to understand a basic liturgical structure and tradition.
Rabbi Dov
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